When Scarlett Johansson filed a lawsuit against Disney over her film Black Widow on July 29, the studio quickly and angrily fired back, declaring in a statement, "There is no merit whatsoever to this filing." However, a 2019 email indicates otherwise.
As originally reported by Vulture, an email between Marvel Studios' chief counsel David Galluzzi and Johansson's lawyer Kevin Yorn detailed Disney's plans to distribute Black Widow the same way as the studio did Captain Marvel (i.e., through theaters exclusively). According to the email, "Further [to] our conversation today, it is 100% our plan to do a typical wide release of Black Widow. We have very high expectations for the film and are very excited to do for Black Widow what we’ve just done with Captain Marvel."
The email continued, "We totally understand Scarlett’s willingness to do the film and her whole deal is based on the premise that the film would be widely theatrically released like our other pictures. We understand that should the plan change we would need to discuss this with you and come to an understanding as the deal is based on a series of (very large) box office bonuses." This part of the email may be particularly damaging to Disney's defense. Reportedly, Johansson's representatives reached out to renegotiate her contract after they learned Black Widow would not receive an exclusive theatrical release and the studio was unresponsive.
According to Johansson's lawsuit, her contract with Disney and Marvel Entertainment guaranteed an exclusive theatrical release for Black Widow and stipulated her salary would be dependent on the overall box office performance. The lawsuit argues that the dual-release of the film in theaters and on Disney+ Premier Access ultimately diminished the box office returns and subsequently lowered her compensation. While Disney has pointed out that the actor earned $20 million for her part in Black Widow, it has been argued that Johansson likely lost around $50 million in potential compensation because of the dual-release strategy.
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Several Hollywood insiders have weighed in on the lawsuit. BothMarvel Studios President and Chief Creative Officer Kevin Feige and former Disney CEO Bob Iger are reportedly ashamed of the studio's handling of the Black Widow film and the lawsuit. Moreover, Time's Up, Women In Film and ReFrame released a joint statement in defense of Johansson, calling Disney's response to the lawsuit a "gendered attack."
Black Widow has been confirmed to be the final appearance for Johansson and her character Natasha Romanoff in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. This fact may have emboldened the actor to pursue legal action because, according to a top entertainment lawyer, the lawsuit likely means Johansson will "never [be] in business with Disney again."
Black Widow is currently available to watch in theaters and on Disney+ Premier Access.
Source: Vulture