After Emily Blunt reportedly was forced to pull out of negotiations to join Iron Man 2 because of a scheduling conflict, Scarlett Johansson is allegedly very close to joining the cast as The Black Widow for the much-anticipated sequel, EW.com reports.

Blunt, the actress from surprisingly-enjoyable The Devil Wears Prada (I saw it three weeks ago on FX and enjoyed it more than I thought I would), joined Jack Black and the rest of the cast of Gulliver’s Travels two weeks ago.  But because Gulliver’s and Iron Man 2 film during the same time, Blunt has had to turn down the much-coveted role of Russian spy Natasha Romanoff that Johansson now seems to be the front-runner for.

Stay tuned to HooplaNow.com and IsThisItX.com for more updates on the Iron Man 2 sequel – especially about who will play The Black Widow.

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For more on Scarlett Johansson, Emily Blunt and Iron Man 2, follow Eric Van Dril at www.twitter.com/isthisitx