Marvel star Scarlett Johansson just recently left Rupert Sander's Rub & Tug movie after the fans criticized the actress for taking on a transgender role and now it looks like the project's future is in jeopardy.
According to a report by The Wrap, insider sources have told the publication that there isn't any certainty that Rub & Tug is going to push through now that Johansson has left the project. Though Sanders remains attached to the film, there's also no certainty whether Johansson's production company These Pictures will continue on with the project now that the lead star has quit her role.
The film which would supposedly reunite the Ghost in the Shell director with Johansson had been under fire the moment word came out the Marvel star had been cast in the role of Dane "Tex" Gill, a transgender businessman and crime king. Transitioning from a female to becoming a man, Gill went head-on with the mob, becoming a 1970s crime boss in Pittsburgh with an empire of illegal massage parlors.
Fans didn't like that Johansson had taken on the role knowing that it meant the erasure of transgenders in Hollywood, and there was even more backlash when the actress responded pointing out white CIS males who had previously taken on transgender roles.
Of course, this isn't the first time the actress has found herself in controversy. Johansson was also under fire for whitewashing after she had taken on the role of Major Makoto in Sander's Ghost in the Shell adaptation. Though the character already turned into a cyborg in the original anime film, Makoto Kusanagi was still Japanese.
Despite all of the negative press surrounding Rub & Tug, we hope that the project continues, this time with a transgender actor with the skill to play the role.
Read: Scarlett Johansson Leaves 'Rub & Tug' Biopic After Backlash
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