Scarlett Johansson And Disney To Collab In Future Following Lawsuit

It looks like Scarlett Johansson is ready to bury the hatchet with Disney as the actor has stated that she’s ‘looking forward’ to collaborating with the company.

After Johansson’s lawsuit gained some momentum in the public eye, the company’s reputation was marred badly, while some also feared the actor would be blacklisted from future Disney productions. However, the two parties have reached a settlement.

As reported by THR, the terms of the deal have not been disclosed, but things seem to have ended on a positive note. Johansson said in a statement,

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’s chairman, Alan Bergman, mentioned their next collaboration on the upcoming film, Tower of Terror, and 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 lawsuit, filed in July, claimed that the studio’s decision to have same day-and-date Disney+ release for Black Widow had cost Johansson millions.

The complaint also mentioned that the contract had guaranteed an exclusive theatrical release when Johansson had signed her deal. Other actors, including Jamie Lee Curtis and Elizabeth Olsen, had voiced their support for Johansson.

CAA co-chairman Bryan Lourd also criticized Disney for insensitively using the pandemic as an excuse when a Disney spokesperson had stated,

The lawsuit is especially sad and distressing in its callous disregard for the horrific and prolonged global effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The exception is when there’s so much money involved or if there’s a level of acrimony that has reached a point of no return, and people are going to stand on principle.

That statement by Disney confirmed the latter, but it still is a shocking statement to make — to paint someone as being insensitive and playing the whole, ‘You’re so out of touch’ card.

You could probably make the same argument about Disney; ‘Yeah. You’ve been generating millions, if not billions, during the pandemic.’

Attorney James Sammataro To THR

Black Widow earned $379 million at the worldwide box office to date and was available on Disney+ Premier Access for an additional $30.

This decision also led to Black Widow being pirated and illegally downloaded rapidly (same was the case when Wonder Woman 1984 went straight to streaming).

Disney was criticized for mistreating and not compensating those who had to endure losses due to simultaneous releases on its streaming service.

However, WarnerMedia took a safer approach by shelling out around $200 million to pay actors whose films had simultaneous theatrical and HBO Max releases, including Patty Jenkins, Gal Gadot, and Will Smith.