We may want them to be a couple, but Scarlett Johansson and Chris Evans are just besties. Here are secrets behind their close friendship

A-listers Scarlett Johansson and Chris Evans have one of those Hollywood friendships we covet.

They’ve known each other for over 10 years, meeting when they made the teen heist comedy The Perfect Score in 2004. Since then, they have worked together on six films, including the four biggies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe,

The fact Johansson and Evans were besties before they even entered the MCU makes their relationship even more special. Playing two of the original Avengers, Natasha Romanoff aka Black Widow and Steve Rogers aka Captain America, the two infused their real-life friendship into their superhero characters, giving a richer context to their interactions onscreen.

Naturally, because of the great chemistry between them – and the fact they are both just too darn good looking as a pair – many rumors have swirled that Johansson and Evans dated. And if not, many fans thought they should be, and it was just a matter of time before things would finally turn romantic.

However, the close friends have defied the odds and have always kept their relationship strictly platonic. They truly think of themselves as brother and sister, and we’ve simply enjoyed watching them banter and play together throughout their entire MCU journey. One wonders what they might do next as a pair once the Avengers ends.

THEIR PRANK BATTLES

The sign of a great friendship is to able to pull off a prank or two on each other. Scarlett Johansson and Chris Evans are no exception to this, especially Evans who really got Johansson good one time when she appeared on a segment of The Ellen Show.

Johansson was on the show in 2015, talking about their latest Marvel movie Avengers: Age of Ultron. The conversation she had with host Ellen DeGeneres was hilarious on its own. DeGeneres asked her about being the only woman with a bunch of male co-stars.

“Well, Lizzie [Olsen] and Cobie [Smulders] are in it, which is helpful,” said Johansson. “I also surround myself with an army of women to sort of protect me against all the testosterone. And we are talking about actors… they are very delicate,” which gets the audience laughing. “I mean [Chris] Hemsworth’s hair takes much longer than mine.”

Then when DeGeneres started asking about Evans, Johansson said she knew him “almost too well,” as Chris sneaked up behind her – and scared the bejeezus out of her.

It was a classic best friend move, as Johansson was really surprised and Evans relished the moment.

Later in the episode, the two besties played a game of “Avenger? I Hardly Know Her,” to see how well they really did know each other. It was a hoot!

THAT ONE TIME ON THE USO TOUR…

Johansson and Evans had a blast doing a USO Holiday Tour in 2016, visiting servicemen and servicewomen who were stationed in Turkey, Qatar, and Afghanistan.

At the Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan, the two participated in a 20-minute Q&A, answering questions from the crowd, including some kids who were there.

One child asked if Evans and Johansson were friends in real life. “No, I can’t stand her,” Evans teased.

“Scarlett is honestly one of my oldest friends… It’s nice in our business to have someone you can turn to, not just as a friend, but who can relate to the experience you’re going through. Outside of the film, we are very good friends.”

Another young boy asked if they could be another other of the Marvel characters, “would you want to be Iron Man or… what?”

“Well, not Batman!” Evans joked. “It’s tough, because [Robert Downey Jr.]’s done such a great job. But as a Cap, you don’t get to make the jokes. It was a lot more fun as [Fantastic Four’s] Johnny Storm because I got to be funny. Cap doesn’t crack the jokes, and it would be nice to be able to be funny sometimes. I would say…Iron Man.”

Johansson replied, “Who would I rather be: You or Iron Man? That is an absurd question…Wait, do I have to be a superhero? I can be anything? I would be happy with the Terminator.”

CHRIS HAS BEEN PUSHING FOR A BLACK WIDOW MOVIE

Johansson and Evans are always looking out for each other and supporting one another in their next endeavors, especially now that the Avengers movies are nearing the finish line.

As we mentioned, Evans has recently spoken about leaving the franchise for good. In a New York Times profile, the actor said, “You want to get off the train before they push you off.”

Evans has been in favor of Johansson getting her own Marvel movie as Black Widow.

“[Johansson] is so good at everything she does,” Evans once toldElle. “She’s played such a crucial part in the other films. She always makes her presence so felt—even when there are 50 different superheroes running around onscreen. I wouldn’t be surprised if that happens at some point in the future. I’m sure Scarlett would be open to it.”

Now, it looks like it’s going to happen. It was announced earlier this year that Marvel is in the beginning stages of a standalone movie centered on Natasha Romanoff’s story. We know from some quick flashes in other Avengers movies that Nat has had a pretty dark past, so it should be a deep dive for Johansson.

She toldET, “I love playing this character, and I think there is definitely an opportunity to explore the Widow as a woman who has kind of come into her own and is making independent and active choices for herself probably for once in her life.”

THE BANTER IS TOO CUTE

Of course, one of the best parts of Johansson and Evans’ friendship is watching them interact while doing press for their MCU movies. Their ease with one another is so evident and the two have developed a sort of short-hand.

Take for example this exchange in a video interview with Showbiz 411. When asked by the reporter about donning the superhero suits, Johansson explained there’s about one week during the shooting of the movie in which every actor goes “rogue” and starts eating junk food like “chicken wings and doughnuts.”

Evans is laughing his butt off at her comment. Then he adds that they all have to suit up so the audience knows the “Texas switch,” meaning the choreography between the actor and the stuntman. The actors have to be in shape and prepared. Johansson is sitting there, nodding, but then asks Evans, “Is the Texas switch a poker reference?” Evans isn’t quite sure and tries to explain what he’s talking about, but she keeps drilling, “Is it an old Western term? But why is it the Texas switch?” Evans replies, “I don’t know the root of it.”

Then the start to go off on an even further tangent when the reporter says Samuel L. Jackson keeps a small toy figurine of Black Widow in his pocket. This just launches Johansson and Evans into all kinds of back-and-forth banter. Let’s just say we could watch them have fun with each other all day long.

THEY BOTH LOVE KIDS

If the two were ever to find romance, one thing is for certain – they’d be great parents.

Evans has said that on the Marvel sets, he’s the single one but that he does want to settle down at some point. “I want to get married, though I want children – to me that’s the ultimate thing,” he told Glamour U.K. “When you’re old and on your death bed, looking back at your life it’s not going to be the films you’ve made or what you’ve accomplished, it’s the relationships you have. You’re survived by things that matter – the people you love and those who love you back.”

Johansson actually has a young daughter who she shares with her ex-husband Romain Dauric.

She recently shared a great story with Ellen DeGeneres. “If you ask her what I do for a living, she says, ‘Mommy’s a superhero,’” Johansson laughed.

She continued, “We had taken a break in shooting Infinity War because it was an extremely long shoot. I was going into the office – I was not doing anything film related, I was like, ‘See you later, honey, Mommy has to go to work.’ And she was like, ‘Who are you fighting?’ I don’t know if that’s a good thing, but yeah, she thinks I fight people for a living. If anybody has a regular uniform that they normally wear to work, mine’s a pleather unitard.”

THEY MAKE EACH OTHER LAUGH

As we mentioned, since the two friends have known each other for 10 years and have now made six movies together (four of them being Avengers movies), one thing has remained constant: their affinity for laughing all the time.

Scarlett once toldParade, “Even though the circumstances of our lives have changed and we’ve moved and our careers have evolved, he’s pretty much the same. We have the same kind of rapport between us, the same short-hand, he’s just as goofy and earnest as he’s always been.

He’s got a lot of humility to him and a great sense of humor. I think Marvel was lucky to have that history between us so they can exploit it for the film!”

“I always say that if you were on a road trip, you’d definitely want Scarlett in your car,” Evans told Vogue. “She’s kind of always laughing, even when she’s in a bad mood.”

SO JUST IGNORE THE DATING RUMORS… THEY DO

Now we come to the persistent rumors that ScarJo and Evans are actually more than friends, speculation that has been dogging the two almost from the beginning.

The rumors really heated up, however, when Johansson divorced Romain Dauriac, and Evans split from girlfriend Jenny Slate. Suddenly, they were both single and seemingly leaning on each other for support during their mutual breakups. They were spotted out grabbing a bite or just hanging, and they were even spotted at the 2017 Oscars together, whispering and laughing with each other in the audience.

Plus, Johansson admitted she didn’t like being alone. She said in an interview, “I’m learning now how to be alone just with myself. But it’s challenging. It doesn’t mean that I don’t feel alone at times or lonely, but I’m realizing that I’ve always had this other half out there.”

Many tabloid headlines splashed that they were finally dating and what a wonderful world it was, but alas, it just wasn’t true. While reports say Evans and Slate are still toying with the on-again, off-again thing, Johansson has found love with Saturday Night Live head writer Colin Jost.

As much as fans may want it, Scarlett and Chris are just going to be BFFs forever.