Scarlett Johansson and Disney are back to working together after settling their lawsuit.
ScarJo and Disney have come to a resolution after the actress sued the company for breach of contract. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the lawsuit has now been settled, but “terms of the deal were not disclosed.”
Both Scarlett and Disney have also spoken out about the “mutual agreement” – and confirmed that they’re working on a new project together.
“I am happy to have resolved our differences with Disney,” the actress said in a statement. “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.”
“I’m very pleased that we have been able to come to a mutual agreement with Scarlett Johansson regarding Black Widow,” Disney Studios chairman Alan Bergman added. “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.”
The settlement comes two months after Scarlett sued Disney for intentional interference with contractual relations and for inducing breach of contract.
In the complaint filed on July 29, the actress claimed that she had agreed to her salary being partly based on the film’s box-office performance and was guaranteed exclusive theatrical release and was losing out on potential bonuses
“Disney has enjoyed the benefits of having one of Hollywood’s top actresses promote its wholly owned subscription service at no additional cost to Disney, and with the intended effect of taking money out of that actress’ own pocket,” the complaint alleged. “Through its conduct, Disney caused damage to Plaintiff by, among other things, inducing acts that cannibalized box office receipts for the Picture and thereby reduced Plaintiff’s deferred compensation and box office bonuses under the Agreement, in an amount to be proven at trial.”
Scarlett’s attorney, John Berlinski, also issued a statement saying, “It’s no secret that Disney is releasing films like Black Widow directly onto Disney+ to increase subscribers and thereby boost the company’s stock price — and that it’s hiding behind COVID-19 as a pretext to do so.”
“But ignoring the contracts of the artists responsible for the success of its films in furtherance of this short-sighted strategy violates their rights and we look forward to proving as much in court,” the statement continued. “This will surely not be the last case where Hollywood talent stands up to Disney and makes it clear that, whatever the company may pretend, it has a legal obligation to honor its contracts.”
At the time, a spokesperson from the Walt Disney Company responded in a statement, “There is no merit whatsoever to this filing. The lawsuit is especially sad and distressing in its callous disregard for the horrific and prolonged global effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Disney has fully complied with Ms. Johansson’s contract and furthermore, the release of Black Widow on Disney+ with Premier Access has significantly enhanced her ability to earn additional compensation on top of the $20M she has received to date.”
The lawsuit soon became the subject of much discussion around Hollywood, with several stars – including a number of her Marvel co-stars – sharing mixed reactions on the matter.
