Scarlett Johansson Settled the Black Widow Lawsuit with Disney
Scarlett Johansson and Disney have settled the breach of contract lawsuit over the star’s Black Widow payday.
Per The Hollywood Reporter, specific terms of the deal were not disclosed. Johansson said, “I am happy to have resolved our differences with Disney. I’m incredibly proud of the work we’ve done together over the years and have greatly enjoyed my creative relationship with the team. I look forward to continuing our collaboration in years to come.”
Disney Studios chairman Alan Bergman added, “I’m very pleased that we have been able to come to a mutual agreement with Scarlett Johansson regarding Black Widow. We appreciate her contributions to the Marvel Cinematic Universe and look forward to working together on a number of upcoming projects, including Disney’s Tower of Terror.”
The explosive suit, filed by the actress in July, claimed that her contract was breached when Black Widow was released on the Disney+ streaming service at the same time as its theatrical debut. Johansson said her agreement with Marvel Studios guaranteed an exclusive movie theaters release and her salary was based largely on box-office performance.
Disney countered that Johansson was paid $20 million for the film.
“It’s no secret that Disney is releasing films like Black Widow directly onto Disney+ to increase subscribers and thereby boost the company’s stock price – and that it’s hiding behind COVID-19 as a pretext to do so,” Johansson’s attorney John Berlinski previously said. “But ignoring the contracts of the artists responsible for the success of its films in furtherance of this short-sighted strategy violates their rights and we look forward to proving as much in court. This will surely not be the last case where Hollywood talent stands up to Disney and makes it clear that, whatever the company may pretend, it has a legal obligation to honor its contracts.”
The settlement brings to a close a back-and-forth battle that pitted the star against Disney. Johansson’s cause received support in the industry, with other actors including Jamie Lee Curtis and Marvel’s WandaVision star Elizabeth Olsen speaking out on her behalf.
Gallery: Scenes From ‘Black Widow’
