The highly-anticipated superhero movie Black Widow is landing in theatres and on streaming on Disney+ on July 9.

And in a profile of star Scarlett Johansson in The Gentlewoman this month, the film’s director Cate Shortland revealed the toll four months of shooting in several locations around the globe had on the actress.

Shortland told the outlet that by the end of production, Johansson as well as her co-star Florence Pugh were both ill with Pneumonia but carried on filming.

Meanwhile, Johansson, 36, also admitted in the interview that she had been hesitant to take on the Marvel character when approached about starring in 2012’s Avengers.

‘Even the thought of all of us together in our superhero costumes sounded like it was going to be a disaster. Not a disaster, but, like, ‘What is this? What is this?” she told The Gentlewoman. 

Nearly a decade later, she’s amassed great wealth thanks to the phenomenal success of the MCU and Avengers franchise and finally got her own MCU vehicle.

‘Yeah, it was exposing,’ Johansson said of carrying the movie. ‘But it was time, you know?’

Both she and Shortland say they hope they’ve managed to pull off something a little bit different with Black Widow.

‘She really pushed to make something that wasn’t flimsy or superficial,’ Shortland said of Johansson.

‘She wanted to make something that meant a lot to young people and to women. And she knew it was possibly her last film as Black Widow – she didn’t want to leave Marvel making a feel-good movie.’