The Disney v. Scarlett Johansson case has reached a conclusion. Back during the release of Marvel’s Black Widow, Disney failed to renegotiate the star’s contract to reflect the switch from a fully theatrical run to Disney’s streaming release plan that was reflective of the pandemic—a failure Johansson said was in violation of that contract. Since Black Widow, Disney has released Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings exclusively in theaters to box office success, only furthering the importance of Johansson’s case against them.
Johansson also taking the time to put her name on the line has given actors, who have been burned by streaming services in regards to release strategy, the fuel they needed to make a case for themselves. Now that Disney and Johansson have settled their issue, it still sets a precedent for future negotiations between creatives and the studios making these films based on release strategy.
According to Yahoo!, both Johansson and Disney are happy to have come to a resolution and have plans on working with each other again despite the remarks that both Johansson and Disney made about one another during the heated battle of the lawsuit—including Disney using the pandemic against Johansson, publicly accusing her of “callous disregard for the horrific and prolonged global effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Still, Johansson and Disney both released statements about the resolution and have announced that they are still moving forward for her role in Tower of Terror.
“I am happy to have resolved our differences with Disney,” Johansson said in a statement. “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.”
“I’m very pleased that we have been able to come to a mutual agreement with Scarlett Johansson regarding Black Widow,” Disney Studios chair Alan Bergman also said in a statement. “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.”
As Deadline reports, the deal will end up with Johansson taking home upwards of $40 million more for her work in Black Widow and also has given them both the ability to work together once again. Still, this case was important. Before, it seemed as if the studio could do things like this without anyone really standing up to them. Johansson filing a suit against a company like Disney and, essentially, getting what she was contractually owed in the long run gives hope to other actors who have had their film release strategy switched to fight for their compensation and stand up against these studios that love any excuse to keep more profits to themselves.
I’m happy that Johansson and Disney seem to have ended this battle on good terms, but it is also still a messy situation and hopefully it does set things in motion for studios to work with their performers and contracts more effectively in the future.
(image: Marvel Entertainment)
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