It appears Scarlett Johansson's lawsuit against Disney has soured a deal the Russo Bros. were making to direct another Marvel Cinematic Universe movie.
According to The Wall Street Journal, Anthony and Joe Russo "hit an impasse" in their negotiations to helm another MCU film after word broke that Johansson is suing Disney for releasing Black Widow day and date in theaters and on Disney+ Premier Access without re-negotiating her original contract, which stipulated the film would open exclusively in theaters. The Russo Bros. are now said to be wary of signing a new deal until they have a clear idea of how their next MCU movie would be distributed, as well as how the duo's payment would be handled.
The Russo Brothers have directed four Marvel Studios films so far, beginning with 2014's Captain America: The Winter Soldier and continuing on to Captain America: Civil War in 2016, Avengers: Infinity War in 2018 and Avengers: Endgame in 2019. All four movies were critical and box office hits, with Endgame becoming the highest-grossing film of all time (not adjusted for inflation in ticket prices) until Avatar's re-release in China in March. The Russos have since turned their attention to directing the Apple TV+ drama Cherry and Netflix's action movie The Gray Man while leaving the door open for their return to the MCU in the future.
As for Johansson, her lawsuit against Disney became public knowledge in July and alleges that the company "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." Disney was quick to fire back, claiming that Johansson's filing has "no merit" and describing it as "especially sad and distressing in its callous disregard for the horrific and prolonged global effects of the COVID-19 pandemic."
Women In Film, ReFrame and Time's Up responded to this with a joint statement that criticized Disney for launching a "gendered character attack" against Johansson that "has no place in a business dispute." And while Disney CEO Bob Chapek indirectly defended the company's Black Widow release strategy during an earnings call in August, his predecessor Bob Iger is reportedly "mortified" by Chapek's handling of the situation.
While it's possible the Russo Bros. will resume their deal-making at a later date, for now, it appears the duo will be steering clear of the MCU until Johnasson's lawsuit is resolved. In the meantime, the pair will continue with post-production on The Gray Man ahead of its expected streaming debut in 2022.
Source: The Wall Street Journal