Scarlett Johansson will reportedly earn $15 million for her title role in Marvel Studios' long-awaited Black Widow film.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, that figure is equal to what Chris Evans and Chris Hemsworth were paid for their roles as Captain America and Thor in Avengers: Infinity War. Marvel disputed the accuracy of the report, but didn't disclose a salary.
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That's perhaps to be expected, considering Johansson was named the highest-paid actress of 2018, earning an estimated $40.5 million between June 1, 2017 and June 1, 2018. However, equal pay for female stars remains an issue in Hollywood, and $15 million is significantly less than the $25 million salary cited in early, and clearly erroneous reports.
As THR notes, Marvel Studios is famously tightfisted with first outings, with Robert Downey Jr. earning just $500,000 in 2008 for Iron Man. Johansson herself was reportedly offered just $250,000 for her Marvel Cinematic Universe debut in 2010's Iron Man 2 before eventually settling for $400,0o0. While Downey raked in about $50 million, with bonuses and back-end compensation, for 2012's The Avengers, Johansson and the other stars earned "low-seven figure" salaries.
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By comparison, Oscar winner Brie Larson was paid a reported $5 million for her starring role next year in Captain Marvel, as part of a seven-picture deal. Chadwick Boseman may have made as much as $2 million for Black Panther.
Johansson, who became a certified action star with her lead role in Luc Besson's Lucy, has appeared as the fan-favorite Natasha Romanoff in five Marvel Studios films. She'll reprise the role next year in Avengers 4.
Cate Shortland is attached to direct Black Widow from a script written by Jac Schaeffer.