And our second major announcement of the week – Scarlett Johansson has been confirmed as The Black Widow in Iron Man 2, replacing the scheduled out Emily Blunt. This confirms the rumors we reported on Valentines day.

This comes via Nikki Finke’s Deadline Hollywood Daily, although unlike the recent Rourke deal, it seems like Johansson did get ‘low-balled’ into this and a whole host of other Marvel movies, including The Avengers. Finke also reveals that Johansson had previously screened for the part and didn’t get it.

I’ve already posted my scoop that Mickey Rourke will play the Russian villain in Iron Man 2 in a Marvel Studios deal that started out lowball and went up a lot. Now I’m told that Emily Blunt won’t be in the sequel and Black Widow will now be played by Scarlett Johannson. (Interesting because Scarlett actually screen-tested for the role and didn’t get it.) But I hear that, unlike Mickey’s money, the deal for her is “just the opposite, a terrible deal made by CAA,” one of my insiders says. “It’s as bad as any deal that I’ve heard. It’s lowball money. And it ties her to countless movies, including that ensemble The Avengers, which is what makes this brutal for a lot of actors.”

How do you feel about Scarlett getting the role? Although very talented I do not see her fitting the part of the Black Widow – it just doesn’t feel right somehow; but I am perfectly happy to be proved wrong.