Actress Scarlett Johannson and Disney have come to terms and settled the lawsuit over the “Black Widow” breach of contract lawsuit.
The lawsuit was filed by Johannson when Disney decided to not do a traditional theatrical release for “Black Widow,” in favor of a simultaneous release on Disney Plus, along with the theaters.
The suit alleged this move violated her contract, and caused Johansson to lose out on tens of millions of dollars in box office bonuses on the backend, which is a common contract clause when doing sequels.
Terms of the settlement were not disclosed.
Johannson released the following statement: “I am happy to have resolved our differences with Disney. 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.”
Alan Bergman, the chairman of Disney Studios Content, released a similar statement: “I’m very pleased that we have been able to come to a mutual agreement with Scarlett Johansson regarding ‘Black Widow. 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.’”
News of the “Tower of Terror” movie was first mentioned earlier this year, around the time “Black Widow” was going to be released, but was obviously overshadowed by the lawsuit.
What I know of the production is that Johannson will produce via her company These Pictures alongside Jonathan Lia, and will also star in the film.
“Toy Story 4” director and “Inside Out” writer Josh Cooley will pen the script, but a plot or any detail on how they’ll covert the ride to a film are under super-secret wraps.
The ride was previously turned into a 1997 TV movie that aired on ABC starring Steve Guttenberg and Kirsten Dunst.
So, while the “Black Widow” lawsuit got ugly for a bit, it seems in the end, all is resolved and the two sides are still willing to work together.