The Scarlett Johansson Era: Why Every Billion-Dollar Franchise Is Chasing ScarJo
Scarlett Johansson is mounting a blockbuster four-peat. After ruling the MCU and turbocharging the Jurassic saga, she’s starring in Mike Flanagan’s Exorcist and is in talks to suit up for The Batman sequel.
Scarlett Johansson is somehow in the middle of four giant franchises at once, because of course she is. After years as the MCU's not-so-secret weapon and a fresh run at dinos, she is now lined up for an Exorcist movie and could be heading to Gotham next.
Where she is headed next
The Hollywood Reporter says Johansson is in final talks to join The Batman Part II. If that deal closes, the plan is reportedly to shoot Mike Flanagan's new Exorcist first, then move to Matt Reeves' sequel. No character details on the Batman side yet, so start your fan-casting engines.
Why every franchise wants her
It is not complicated. Studios love a sure thing, and Johansson is about as close as it gets: name recognition, real acting chops, and a track record that actually moves tickets. She is the kind of star who can tilt a project just by being on the call sheet.
The numbers that back it up
Jurassic World Rebirth has already piled up roughly $868.9 million worldwide (via The Numbers), and that pushed Johansson to a new milestone: as of July 7, 2025, she sits at or near the top of the highest-grossing lead actors list with just under $15 billion in global box office (per The Independent). Not exactly a fluke when you look at her top earners:
- Avengers: Endgame (Apr 26, 2019) - $2,717,503,922
- Avengers: Infinity War (Apr 27, 2018) - $2,048,158,241
- The Avengers (May 4, 2012) - $1,515,100,211
- Avengers: Age of Ultron (May 1, 2015) - $1,395,316,979
- Captain America: Civil War (May 6, 2016) - $1,151,899,586
- The Jungle Book (Apr 15, 2016) - $950,697,998
- Jurassic World Rebirth (Jul 2, 2025) - $868,907,840
- Captain America: The Winter Soldier (Apr 4, 2014) - $714,401,889
- Sing (Dec 21, 2016) - $631,064,182
- Iron Man 2 (May 7, 2010) - $621,156,389
What she costs (and why studios still pay it)
Celebrity Net Worth pegs her usual quote somewhere between $10 million and $20 million per movie. For context: she reportedly earned $400,000 for Iron Man 2 back in the day, then around $15 million for Black Widow (also CNW). During her lawsuit with Disney over Black Widow's release strategy, Disney said she had been paid $20 million on that film (via THR). When you add up the Marvel years, her total MCU take is generally estimated in the $60–$70 million range.
Outside Marvel, the checks are still substantial. She is said to have earned $17.5 million for 2017's Ghost in the Shell, and in 2019 she topped Forbes' list of highest-paid actresses with $56 million that year. The net worth estimate making the rounds is $165 million, for what that is worth.
The bigger picture
If all of this comes together, Johansson will be a headline name in the MCU, Jurassic, The Exorcist, and The Batman. That is a studio exec's dream and a scheduling headache, but it also explains the feeding frenzy: she delivers. Whether you are into capes, kaiju-adjacent chaos, or priests shouting Latin at demons, she is apparently on your 2025–2026 slate.
Who do you want her to play in The Batman Part II? And yes, go wild with the theories.