Scarlett Johansson has been a working lady since she was nine, growing up on movie sets. But that hasn’t stopped the bankable actress from being a wife to SNL’s Colin Jost and a dedicated mother to their two kids. As for whether the former MCU actress travels with her kids while working on set, Johansson has admitted to being very choosy about that, and her logic with the upcoming Jurassic World: Rebirth (which is included in the 2025 movie release list) makes a lot of sense.
It’s common for celebrities to bring their kids to the set. It can prove to be an adorable experience, like when Kaley Cuoco brought her then-one-year-old to the Based on a True Story set, or traumatizing like when Arnold Schwarzenegger took then one-year-old Katherine on the set of Terminator with half his face melted off. As for whether Scarlett Johansson has ever turned her time working on location as a vacation opportunity for her and her kids, the Jojo Rabbit actress gave E! News her honest answer:
Sometimes I do. But at this stage, I feel like, you know, unless everybody else is on vacation, it’s so disruptive to everybody’s schedules, and I’m working all the time, that for something that was as quick as this, no.
The “quick” project that Scarlett Johansson is talking about is Wes Anderson’s new movie The Phoenician Scheme, where she plays Cousin Hilda. As filming took place from March to June 2024 in Germany, it makes sense why the Black Widow actress didn’t want to bring along the kids for this gig, since it would be a short trip for everyone. With all of the work Johansson would be putting into the espionage black comedy, I can imagine having her cute kiddies there would be a real distraction.
While Scarlett Johansson’s kids couldn’t come to The Phoenician Scheme, she and Colin Jost’s son, Cosmo, was invited to the set of another Wes Anderson movie. According to People, Cosmo got to check out the set of Asteroid City that his mom starred in back when he was just a baby. She joked that her son ended up being more popular than her while filming in Spain!
Filming The Phoenician Scheme in the spring may have been a quickie shooting experience, not worth turning into a family vacation. However, Scarlett Johansson explained why she brought her kids to Jurassic World: Rebirth when it was filming in Thailand, Malta, and the U.K. last summer, and I totally get it:
I mean, when we were doing Jurassic World, it was over the summer time. So I got to bring my family to a lot of fun locations. But this one, I think it’s just so much about the work, and Wes has created this whole environment that feels like a troupe of actors. And so, you’re kind of all dug in and focused. And, you know, kids can be distracting.
With so many fun locations filmed for Jurassic World, I understand why that movie would be the time to create an exciting vacation for your kids. Especially when compared to their mother having to step out a lot for work for the Wes Anderson flick. Plus with some fun in the sun during the summer season, you can’t find a better opportunity to squeeze in family time. Now I’m curious what kind of vacation activities the whole family got to do when Johansson wasn’t interacting with dinosaurs.
Scarlett Johansson’s choosiness on which film projects are best to take her young kids on makes a lot of sense. Instead of bringing her kids to a “quick” film schedule shoot like The Phoenician Scheme, Jurassic World’s lengthy summer schedule is a great way to dedicate work and fun family time in a truly meaningful way. You can catch The Phoenician Scheme in theaters now, with Jurassic World: Rebirth in theaters on July 2nd.