Just the other day, we mentioned that Saoirse Ronan has yet to try her hand in a major franchise, even though as a child, she wanted to play Luna in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. However, it's not that Ronan, who has since been nominated for an Oscar four times, hasn’t received big offers to appear in blockbusters. Marvel approached her twice, but she doesn’t feel particularly connected to that world.
Recently, Ronan was a guest on journalist Josh Horowitz's podcast, where Horowitz asked her why she turned down the role of Yelena Belova in Black Widow. The actress was surprised that the journalist knew about this, and it turns out he found out from another journalist, Justin Kroll, who recently revealed on another podcast that Ronan was Marvel's top pick for the role but turned the studio down.
Ronan did not deny the rumor, but she explained that she has no problem with superhero franchises; however, she doesn't desire a superhero role. "I can't imagine myself in a Marvel movie. I just can't..." said the actress, who would like to take on bigger audience films in the future, but would prefer to take on a role in something like a James Bond film.
In Black Widow, the role of Yelena was eventually played by Florence Pugh, who then returned as the character in the Hawkeye series and will also be seen next year as one of the leads in Thunderbolts. However, it wasn't just in recent years that Marvel noticed Ronan's talent. Her name was already brought up during the development of Avengers: Age of Ultron, as director Joss Whedon had considered her for the role of Wanda Maximoff, later played by Elizabeth Olsen, aka the Scarlet Witch.
