Scarlett Johansson Sues Disney, Says Black Widow’s Online Streaming Was A Breach Of Contract
Scarlett Johansson has been a significant part of Marvel Cinematic Universe since she made her debut in Iron Man (2010) as Natasha Romanoff. From there, the fandom of the character has only increased. Recently, new information has emerged that Scarlett Johansson is filing a case against Disney over the release of Black Widow on the online streaming platform.
Is Scarlett Johansson aka Black Widow’s Journey in MCU
Ever since her debut in Robert Jr. Downey’s Iron Man (2010), Scarlett Johansson’s Black Widow has appeared in many big MCU projects. For a very long time, fans have been expecting a standalone movie for Scarlett’s Black widow. Their wishes were fulfilled earlier this year when Black Widow was released.
Giver her Endgame death, Black Widow, acted as a prequel to Natasha Romanoff’s arc in MCU focusing on her past life. Initially, the movie was scheduled to release last year but was delayed many times due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
However, with the release of WandaVision on Disney+, Marvel decided to officially kick start MCU phase 4, including the release of Black Widow. After the onset of MCU phase 4, fans wondered whether the theatrical side of the current phase would premiere on a streaming platform like Soul and Mulan in 2020. That’s precisely what happened with Black Widow as well. The movie was released in theatres and on Disney+ simultaneously.
Scarlet Johansson files a lawsuit against Disney.
To watch the movie on the streaming platform, viewers had to buy the premier access of Disney+ which charged $29.99. WSJ has recently revealed that Scarlett Johnson has filed a lawsuit against Disney in Los Angeles Superior court. According to the actress, the release of Black Widow on the streaming platform was a breach of contract.
In Johansson’s agreement, it was stated that Johansson’s salary depends on the box office success of the film. The release of Black Widow on Disney plus could restrict the box office success of the movie. Scarlett’s lawsuit states that Disney intentionally released the film on their platform to induce Marvel’s breach of the contract so that Scarlett could not take full benefit of her bargain with Marvel Studios.
Is this the end of Scarlett Johansson’s MCU journey?
Disney responded that the lawsuit has no value whatsoever, and Disney has fully complied with Scarlett’s agreement. Black Widow was reportedly Scarlett Johansson’s last project in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, judging by the current situation. This may genuinely be her last time as Natasha Romanoff in the Marvel universe.
The whole industry will be waiting for the result of this lawsuit. Because of the pandemic, more and more studios are trending towards online releases, just like how Warner Bros caused a commotion when they announced that their entire 2021 releases would come out in theatres and HBO Max simultaneously.
Scarlett Johansson’s lawsuit over black widows online release will be the first step towards how other actors and artists react to this online release trend of the industry. the outcome of this lawsuit will tell the future of how films release in the industry
