Scarlett Johansson And Florence Pugh Were Totally Surprised About Black Widow’s Epic Motorcycle Stunt Scene

Scarlett Johansson and Florence Pugh in Black Widow
(Image credit: (Marvel))
(Image credit: (Marvel))

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When Marvel fans watch a movie like Black Widow, they're supposed to look at Scarlett Johansson and Florence Pugh riding a motorcycle through the streets of Budapest and think, ‘Hey, that looks fun and easy!’ Here’s a casual reminder that a single scene from Black Widow such as that one is actually a ton of work, and the lead actresses who play Natasha and Yelena actually did get on a bike on location to make the scene as immersive as it is.

After premiering in theaters and Disney+ Premier Access back in July, Black Widow is now available to purchase on 4K, Blu-Ray, DVD and Digital HD. It’s a great time to relive scenes such as the motorcycle chase and learn about the behind-the-scenes process of how it was done. Included in the Bonus Features section, Scarlett Johansson and Florence Pugh shared their experience bringing the scene to life. In their words:

Scarlet Johansson: That chase is so many things. Some of it is on this track, some of it is us being pulled by a camera on a rig and a lot of it is also practical.Florence Pugh: It was so exciting to do and all the stunt people we’re just happy and excited that we wanted to be a part of it.Johansson: I didn’t know how it was going to be for us. When you read it on the page, you’re like ‘Oh, ok, a motorcycle chase through Budapest.’ And then right before you’re shooting it, you’re like ‘How are we going to be on the street, it’s going to be crazy! How are we going to shoot this?’Pugh: It was awesome.

When you check out the bonus features, you can see what the actresses actually looked like on set when filming the Black Widow sequence, but as they shared, a ton of it was practical. When Scarlett Johansson first read the scene, she didn’t think much of it, but when it came actually shooting it on a motorcycle with Pugh right behind her, it sounds like it was pretty intense.

Florence Pugh’s response is very similar to her fan-favorite character of Yelena, as she shared how awesome it was, while Scarlett Johansson shared some of the reservations she had about it. Here’s part of the chase sequence if you’d like to access the kind of adrenaline Johansson and Pugh experienced, albeit behind the wheel of a car:

Black Widow, of course, marked Scarlett Johansson’s first time getting center stage in a Marvel film since being introduced into the universe back in 2010 for Iron Man 2. The character sacrificed her life in Avengers: Endgame, but following Black Widow, we do expect to see more of Florence Pugh’s Yelena. Perhaps she'll take on the mantle of the next Widow, as she has done in the comic books. Stay up to date on what’s next for Marvel with the upcoming MCU movie slate here on CinemaBlend.

Black Widow is now available to purchase in Digital HD on Amazon and in Target stores on Blu-ray.

Sarah El-Mahmoud
Staff Writer

Sarah El-Mahmoud has been with CinemaBlend since 2018 after graduating from Cal State Fullerton with a degree in Journalism. In college, she was the Managing Editor of the award-winning college paper, The Daily Titan, where she specialized in writing/editing long-form features, profiles and arts & entertainment coverage, including her first run-in with movie reporting, with a phone interview with Guillermo del Toro for Best Picture winner, The Shape of Water. Now she's into covering YA television and movies, and plenty of horror. Word webslinger. All her writing should be read in Sarah Connor’s Terminator 2 voice over.