In a shocking turn of events, Scarlett Johansson has filed a lawsuit against Disney for dropping Black Widow simultaneously in theaters and on streaming. The Marvel mainstay is suing the Mouse House over a claimed breach of her contract, which stipulated that the movie would get an exclusively theatrical release. Johansson’s salary for the film was based in large part on its box office gross.
It’s fair to say we weren’t expecting the star to turn against the studio she’s been working with for the past decade – and social media is being flooded with reactions from stunned Marvel fans. For starters, many are just flat-out blown away by this surprising turn of events.
Others are making clear that they’re on ScarJo’s side on this one.
Actual footage of ScarJo vs. Disney:
And here’s Disney’s reaction:
A lot of folks are now jumping to the conclusion that the potential for Johansson to return to the MCU as Natasha Romanoff is now definitely off the table, given the bad blood between the two parties.
And that’s upsetting Nat’s loyal fans.
Elmo sad.
Johannson’s suit was filed today at the Los Angeles Superior Court. The crux of the issue is that the star should have received a hefty chunk of what she believes would’ve been a much higher box office intake if Disney had foregone sharing Black Widow on Disney Plus as they did. With the rise of movies instantly going online only really happening over the past year, Johansson’s contract did not stipulate that she should receive any streaming revenue.
“Disney intentionally induced Marvel’s breach of the agreement, without justification, in order to prevent Ms. Johansson from realizing the full benefit of her bargain with Marvel,” the suit claimed.
As the fans have guessed, then, this may spell the end between Scarlett Johansson’s partnership with Disney. Stay tuned for more on this story as it comes in.