While Black Widow has been a fan favorite since the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s most pivotal era, that didn’t stop the company from clashing with the star behind the scenes, and now Scarlett Johannsen has given her thoughts on the controversial legal action that followed.
Black Widow was the long-awaited solo project for Johansson’s iconic MCU character, who had been a foundational part of the Avengers and a fan favorite for all the right reasons leading up to the character’s removal from the franchise during the climax of the Infinity Saga. With the first-ever attempt at getting a solo film for the character starting in 2004 and Johansson’s version being discussed by Kevin Feige as early as 2010, the film had been a long time coming. However, it would be revealed after the film’s 2021 premiere that Johansson was suing Disney over the Black Widow film’s simultaneous release, which saw the company premiere the film on Disney+ at the start of its theatrical run, despite the star’s contract specifically stating that the film would be released exclusively in theaters.
Since Disney and Johansson eventually reached a settlement over the Black Widow case, and the star has even been tapped to produce a secretive new project for Marvel Studios, many fans assume she’s over the whole thing and they’d be right. In an interview with The New York Times that also mainly touched on her more recent projects and spared a moment to discuss her issues with OpenAI, Johansson made her thoughts known on the whole legal issue with Disney with the benefit of a calmer mind and hindsight. “I don’t hold a grudge,” she revealed when asked about the issues. “I think it was just poor judgment and poor leadership at that time. It just felt very unprofessional to me, the entire ordeal. And honestly, I was incredibly disappointed, especially because I was holding out hope until, finally, my team was like, ‘You have to act.’”
And act she did, with a lawsuit in Los Angeles County Superior Court against The Walt Disney Company that, while settling under undisclosed terms two months after the motion, reportedly saw Johansson win somewhere to the tune of $40 million. While the entire ordeal certainly made her sad, Johansson, fortunately, had something more important than a few million dollars going on around that period. “It was such a surreal moment because we were all isolated and just sort of emerging a little bit,” Johansson revealed in an earlier Variety interview after she opened up about the issue in a discussion with the Associated Press at the tail end of 2021. “I was also really heavily pregnant, too, which in a weird way was amazing timing. Suddenly, your entire attention is drawn to this miracle of life. So, I had the most wonderful distraction in the world and soon after had a beautiful baby.”
All in all, the lawsuit was certainly a win, as Johansson was able to affect a change that saw Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings and other future projects avoid the same situation she found herself in. There was also a lot of public and vocal support for her case, with fans and collaborators like the Russo Brothers being disturbed by Disney's treatment of Johansson regarding Black Widow. This made the case a high-profile one with a lot of exposure to it, potentially serving as a cautionary tale to others who might find themselves in that sort of situation down the line. While it was certainly worthwhile, it’s also cheering to find out that Johansson’s mental health didn’t suffer too much as a result of the ordeal and that she’s been able to gracefully work past it.
With Scarlett Johansson's Marvel project hinted to be moving forward as a potential Disney+ show, this is probably the last that the star will discuss the issue and fans can look forward to seeing her work with the studio and company even more going forward.
