Disney Claps Back at ScarJo’s ‘Black Widow’ Lawsuit: “There Is No Merit Whatsoever”

The Walt Disney Company has officially entered the epic Black Widow brawl, tearing into Scarlett Johansson for her breach of contract lawsuit. A rep for the company commented on her stance, labeling it a “callous disregard” amidst the continued terrors of the pandemic.

Johansson filed the suit yesterday (July 29) in Los Angeles Superior Court, The Wall Street Journal first reported. According to the star, Disney’s simultaneous streaming release to Disney+ Premier Access was a breach of her contract. Per the suit: “Disney 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.” According to Johansson’s suit, the actress lost over $50 million that should have been tied to the box office benchmarks Black Widow now cannot achieve, thanks to its streaming release.

Disney, however, has countered, saying that they complied with all the terms in Johansson’s deal for the Avengers spinoff movie.

“There is no merit whatsoever to this filing,” Disney responded almost right after the news broke. “The lawsuit is especially sad and distressing in its callous disregard for the horrific and prolonged global effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.”

In the statement, Disney also made it clear that the star has already received $20 million for her work, arguing that “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.”

But Disney did not provide any information regarding any form of renegotiation in Johansson’s contract, which would allow her to share in the streaming rental revenue. According to the complaint, Johansson’s representatives sought to renegotiate her contract after hearing about the simultaneous release strategy for Black Widow; however, both Disney and Marvel were unresponsive.

The issue between ScarJo and streaming hails all the way back to March 2019, in which Johansson expressed her concern about the film landing on Disney+ instead of in theaters. Before the pandemic began, Marvel Chief Counsel Dave Galuzzi assured her reps that it would not land on Disney+.

“We understand that should the plan change, we would need to discuss this with you and come to an understanding as the deal is based on a series of (very large) box office bonuses,” Galuzzi wrote.

Disney has since sent several of its major films like Cruella, Jungle Cruise, Mulan, and Raya and the Last Dragon to Disney+ Premier Access, in which viewers have the option to pay a one-time $29.99 fee to stream the film at home. At this time, it’s unclear as to whether or not any of the stars in these other films plan on suing for reasons similar to Johansson, but Matt Belloni reports the following in his must-read “What I’m Hearing” email newsletter:

Emma Stone, star of Cruella, is said to be weighing her options, and Emily Blunt, who raised a similar gripe over the much more favorable windowing strategy on Paramount’s A Quiet Place Part II, is likely watching the Jungle Cruise numbers closely this weekend. Writers, directors, stars, and others have been reaching out to their reps, asking how they can help. The floodgates might be opening.

Stream Black Widow on Disney+