MarvelIf Marvel and Disney have their way, Scarlett Johansson will be back in black.
Per the New York Post, the 27-year-old actress did such a bang-up job in her role as Black Widow in The Avengers that the studios are said to be ponying up as much as a record $20 million to ensure she suits up for the highly anticipated sequel.
But is it true?
Well, first to put it in perspective, that whopping amount is a far cry from the estimated $400,000 Johansson pocketed when she first played the character in Iron Man 2. And, considering the fact that The Avengers is an ensemble flick, such a massive raise for a sequel would be pretty amazing.
However, a rep for Johansson tells E! News her camp has no knowledge of the $20 million payday.
If the estimate does prove to be accurate, it would surpass the $19 million Angelina Jolie took home for The Tourist, which grossed $278 million internationally.
Then again, the thesp is the only female superhero in the group, and as such, it might make good business sense to retain the bombshell to keep the fanboys happy.
Johansson is just one of a number of high-profile stars—including Robert Downey Jr., Chris Hemsworth and Jeremy Renner—all getting big salary bumps for the highly anticipated follow-up. The Avengers has so far raked in a whopping $1.45 billion worldwide, making it the third highest-grossing movie of all time behind James Cameron's Avatar and Titanic, which are in first and second place, respectively.