In this web exclusive, actress Scarlett Johansson talks about how dealing with her sensitive skin for years led to her founding a new line of skin care products, The Outset. She also discusses her life-changing roles, and the impact of artificial intelligence.

VARIETY – Scarlett Johansson told CBS Sunday Morning that the early 2000s were a “really harsh time” to be a young woman in Hollywood. The “Lost in Translation” star said during that period, it was “socially acceptable” for female actors to be “pulled apart for how they looked.”

“It was tough. There was a lot placed on how women looked,” Johansson said. “What was offered at that time for women my age, as far as acting roles or opportunities, was much slimmer than it is now.”

Johansson added that there are “much more empowering roles” for young women in 2026 than when she was “in my 20s.” When Johansson was coming up in the industry, she said it was “Slim Pickens.”

“You would get really pigeon-holed and offered the same [roles]. It would be like the other woman, or the side piece, the bombshell,” she said. “That was the archetype that was prevalent when I was that age.”

Johansson found solace from typecasting in the New York theater scene. Taking a break from Hollywood also taught her to wait for “the right role” rather than give in to the pressure to “work constantly.”

“It’s something that I learned over time, but it’s hard,” she explained. “Once you start working, you really feel like every job is going to be your last and that if you get opportunities to work, you have to keep taking them. Even though they might not be as varied as the jobs that really give you pleasure.”

She continued. “Every actor feels like that, because it is so competitive, and I think once you do have the spotlight, you want to keep it on you. I mean, that’s the instinct I think for a young actor, or any actor.”

Johannson was just 17 years old when she made her breakout debut in Sofia Coppola’s 2003 drama “Lost in Translation.” Some of her other early film credits include “The Perfect Score,” “Match Point,” “The Prestige,” “The Other Boleyn Girl” and “Iron Man 2.”

VARIETY – Scarlett Johansson, Sam Rockwell and Tom Waits have joined Brad Bird‘s “Ray Gunn” voice cast.

Johansson, Rockwell and Waits will join voice actor John Ratzenberger in the Skydance Animation feature.

According to the logline, “Ray Gunn” is set in Metropia, a gigantic city in an alternate future as seen from 1939, where private eye Raymond Gunn is drawn into a case involving aliens, murder and a multimedia star named Venus Nova.

Johansson who voices Nova said, ““Having the opportunity to collaborate with Brad Bird is a career milestone for me; I have loved his work my entire life. This project is so uniquely special because it is a total realization of where Brad is currently on his artistic journey. I can’t wait for audiences to see this extraordinary animation that looks like nothing else out there.”

Bird is on board as producer, writer and director. He helmed 2004’s “The Incredibles” and 2018’s “Incredibles 2,” and this marks his first film since 2018. Bird is also suiting up again to write and produce “Incredibles 3” slated for release in 2028. He said, “‘Ray Gunn’ has been in my mind for over 30 years. The film is a blend of sci-fi and classic detective movies from the ’40s…it’s Maltese Falcon meets Buck Rogers. I’ve been a fan of both of those sort of genres, and blending them together seemed fun, and a chance to play with a lot of very cinematic elements, and extreme characters.” He added, “There’s a big chunk of people who don’t watch animation. That’s a group I’m anxious to persuade because it’s an amazing art form that is way too limited in people’s minds. Animation as a medium is too interesting to limit what kind of stories can be told.”

Skydance Animation’s John Lasseter, David Ellison and Dana Goldberg are set to produce the film which will be released by Netflix later this year.

In 2023, Skydance Animation struck a deal to exclusively release its animated movies directly to Netflix in an arrangement that spans multiple years.

Earlier this year, Netflix won the animated feature Oscar for “KPop Demon Hunters” which became its most-watched movie of 2025.

Also on its animation slate are the upcoming “Steps,” featuring Amanda Seyfried as the voice of Cinderella, and “Swapped,” abuddy comedy about a small woodland creature (voiced by Michael B. Jordan) and a majestic bird (voiced by Juno Temple).

Johansson was the recipient of Variety’s Legends and Groundbreakers Award at the Newport Beach Film Festival in 2025. She worked her way up to being the industry’s top-paid female star, locking in (and later fighting to be fairly compensated for) that title as Marvel’s Black Widow character.

Last year, she appeared in “Jurassic World: Rebirth” and she brought her feature directing debut “Eleanor the Great” to Cannes. Next up, she’s set to appear in the “Exorcist” movie for Universal and Blumhouse-Atomic Monster.

Scarlett visited Colbert and took The Colbert Questionert.

Scarlett stars in this year’s Super Bowl commercial for Ritz alongside Jon Hamm and Bowen Yang.

THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER – Mike Flanagan, who previously tackled Stephen King adaptations ‘Gerald’s Game’ and ‘Doctor Sleep,’ is writing and will direct the feature film.
Scarlett Johansson will star in Mike Flanagan’s “fresh, bold” take on The Exorcist.

Blumhouse and Universal are behind the latest attempt to revive the horror franchise, which follows the companies’ ill-fated effort to launch a franchise with 2023’s The Exorcist: Believer.

Flanagan wrote the script and is directing and producing the new feature that is not a remake nor a sequel but set in the Exorcist “universe,” whatever that entails.

The original Exorcist, based on the novel by William Peter Blatty and directed by William Friedkin, focused on the demonic possession of a young girl and the priests that try to save her. The film was nominated for 10 Oscars. The various follow-ups mostly featured stories centered on the girl (now grown-up), the back stories of the priests or other demonic cases detectives from the first movie investigated.

“The Exorcist is one of the reasons I became a filmmaker, and it is an honor to have the chance to try something fresh, bold and terrifying within its universe,” is how Flanagan described the project when his involvement was announced in May 2024.

At the time, David Robinson, chairman and CEO of Exorcist rights holder Morgan Creek, said, “I think his vision for this franchise is going to stun audiences worldwide.”

Details on the take are being kept strapped to the bed.

Flanagan, who is known for directing Stephen King adaptations such as Doctor Sleep and Gerald’s Game as well as creating TV shows such as Midnight Mass and The Haunting of Hill House, is producing via his Red Room Pictures banner. David Robinson is producing for Morgan Creek Entertainment while Jason Blum and Ryan Turek serve as producer and executive producer respectively for Blumhouse.

Johansson last starred in Universal’s Jurassic World: Rebirth, which grossed over $868 million worldwide and proved that the studio’s long-standing dino movie series still had the chomps when it came to attracting audiences.

If you missed it, watch the entire interview of Scarlett and June Squibb talking about Eleanor the Great with Kelly Clarkson.