Scarlett Johansson's Explosive Sci-Fi Movie Instantly Becomes Netflix Hit Ahead Of Genre Return

Published Oct 16, 2026, 2:00 PM EDT

Felipe Rangel is a Movie and TV Journalist ScreenRant. He has been writing about movies and TV since 2021. Felipe joined ScreenRant in 2022, working across different teams, covering everything from breaking news to features to reviews and more.

Felipe is a writer who is an avid film and TV fan, with superhero movies and series being his biggest passion. He graduated from college in 2019, having studied Journalism. Before college, he spent a month studying at the Oxford English Centre. His superhero knowledge expands to the comics, with his undergraduate thesis being "Politics Reflected In American Comics."

Scarlett Johansson has a major sci-fi movie currently taking over Netflix nationwide, and this development comes at the perfect time for the actress, given that Johansson will soon return to the genre on that very streaming service. Johansson's list of iconic movies runs wide, with the actress having a good understanding of not only the sci-fi genre, but also major franchises. After all, Johansson spent a good chunk of her career as Natasha Romanoff, aka Black Widow, appearing in many of the Marvel Cinematic Universe's best movies. For now, Johansson is not set to return in Avengers: Doomsday or Avengers: Secret Wars.

The Marvel Studios franchise allowed Johansson to play with many sci-fi elements, including advanced technology, superpowers, murderous robots, and even time travel. That said, Johansson's sci-fi movies outside the MCU have also led to audiences seeing the actress' full potential in bona fide genre releases. One of such projects is the animated Transformers One, which features Johansson alongside a star-studded cast, with the actress joining another of Hollywood's most iconic movie franchises through that project. A couple of years after its September 20, 2024, release date, Transformers One has now become a Netflix streaming sensation before Johansson's genre return.

Johansson's Transformers One Is Racing Up Netflix's Top 10

At the time of writing, Transformers One has become the 6th most-watched movie on Netflix in the United States. This makes the animated sci-fi epic an instant streaming sensation for Johansson, as Transformers One arrived on Netflix nationwide on Thursday, October 15. As such, it only took the sci-fi movie one day of availability on the streaming service for the fan-favorite Transformers entry to take over Netflix's charts, trending in the US. Helping the movie's Netflix performance is the fact that Transformers One boasts a near-perfect 97% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes. The film also comes with an 89% critics' score.

Right now, Transformers One has surpassed movies like the fellow animated franchise films Ice Age and Ice Age: Collision Course, as well as the comedy The Breadwinner, and the Netflix original documentary The Widower: 'Til Death Do Us Part, on Netflix's US chart. As for the movies above Transformers One, Netflix's domestic top three is made up of Doing Life, Terry McMillan Presents: Preach, Pray, Love, and Ben Affleck's new R-rated thriller Animals. Transformers One follows the origins of Optimus Prime, voiced by Chris Hemsworth, and Megatron, portrayed by Brian Tyree Henry. Johansson plays Elita-1. Other stars include Jon Hamm, Laurence Fishburne, and more.

The Star Has Another Sci-Fi Return On The Horizon

Transformers One's newfound success on Netflix in the United States comes right before Johansson is not only set to return to the sci-fi genre, but the actress will do so in animated form and on Netflix. Johansson will next be seen in the animated sci-fi noir movie Ray Gunn, directed by animation legend Brad Bird. Ray Gunn will be released in theaters for a limited run on December 4, with the upcoming sci-fi movie starring Johansson as the pop star Venus Nova arriving on Netflix on December 18. Transformers One becoming a hit on Netflix sets the stage for Johansson's genre return in Ray Gunn nicely.