Well, the long battle between Scarlett Johansson and Disney is over now. But who won? Well, that’s a very interesting question.
The Hollywood Reporter reports that Scarlett Johansson and Disney’s legal battle has finally ended. Her lawsuit with them over breach of contract over Black Widow‘s release has now ended in a settlement. It seems that Disney really didn’t want the lawsuit going to court, after all.
“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
“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.”
Alan Bergman, Chairman, Disney Studios
Unfortunately, neither Scarlett Johansson nor Disney wish to disclose the terms of the settlement. At least, not on The Hollywood Reporter. Based on Johansson’s wording though, the settlement seems to be well in her favor, or so we assume. Take it with a grain of salt until we get official word from either Johansson herself or Disney…one of these days.
Scarlett Johansson Lawsuit: The Endgame?
So what does this settlement mean? Well, in the short term, it means that Scarlett Johansson will star in future Disney projects after all, including the aforementioned upcoming Tower of Terror film. It might even mean a reappearance of Black Widow herself one of these days via alternate dimension nonsense and such.
In the long term? Well, it proves that talent can and will start legal battles with studios if the studios decide to pull some contract hijinks. It also proves that whatever a studio stands to gain from letting a case get to court, it’s likely not worth it. It’s better to do what Disney did here and just settle out of court, even if it’s in the talent’s favor. Hopefully, this results in a more fair situation between talent and studios.
Conclusion
Scarlett Johansson and Disney have now finally settled their extended legal battle over Black Widow. While neither of them wishes to disclose anything about the terms of the settlement so far, Johansson seems pretty happy with what she got from Disney. Now, she’s back to working for Disney and will continue to appear in Disney projects, including the upcoming Tower of Terror film. So hurrah for her, and hopefully, Disney learns something from this. Namely: don’t try anything funny with your talent. They might fight back.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
