In July, longtime Marvel Cinematic Universe actress Scarlett Johansson filed a breach of contract lawsuit against Disney, leading to a bizarre and rather sexist response from the studio. Johansson claimed that Disney pivoting to a hybrid release placing “Black Widow” on Premiere Access on Disney+ (for a separate fee from subscription) hurt her potential earnings/bonuses from an exclusive theatrical release. There had been claims the actress could have lost $50 million from the move, and Disney bluntly said she should be satisfied with the $20 million she had already earned, bizarrely exposing Johansson’s salary to the public in their statement.
However, as September closed out yesterday, and “Shang-Chi: The Legend Of The Ten Rings”— a theatrical only Marvel movie that surpassed “Black Widow” at the U.S. box office and seemingly making her claim all the more relevant—The Hollywood Reporter announced via Disney that Johansson and the studio have settled the lawsuit. Details on that settlement aren’t known, but Scarlett Johansson made a statement on the legal issue coming to an end.
“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,” Scarlett Johansson said in a statement on Thursday about the settlement. With this lawsuit out of the way, Johannson is apparently ready to get back to work on Disney’s “Tower of Terror,” a feature film based on their theme park attraction.
Johansson is currently working on the untitled Wes Anderson film in Spain, and “Tower of Terror” could be one of the projects she tackles next.
Disney Studios chairman Alan Bergman echoed as much. “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,’” he said.
READ MORE: ‘Black Widow’ Has Historically Bad Box Office Drop As Theater Owners Blame Disney+ Access
The Black Widow character was first introduced in “Iron Man 2” and has been a popular character throughout the various phases of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. While there is an expectation that the “Black Widow” film could see sequels with Florence Pugh’s Yelena Belova picking up the mantle, there aren’t clear plans for Johansson to make a return given that Natasha Romanoff died in “Avengers: Endgame.”