Disney Is Demanding That Scarlett Johansson's BLACK WIDOW Suit Be Moved To Arbitration

Disney Is Demanding That Scarlett Johansson's BLACK WIDOW Suit Be Moved To Arbitration

The saga continues, as Disney has now filed a motion demanding that Scarlett Johansson’s Black Widow lawsuit be moved to arbitration. The filings were made last night in Los Angeles Superior Court.

By MarkCassidy - Aug 21, 2021 07:08 AM EST
Filed Under: Black Widow

Black Widow star Scarlett Johansson recently filed a lawsuit against the Walt Disney Co., alleging that her contract was breached when the Marvel Studios movie was released on Disney+ and in theaters at the same time.

Apparently, Black Widow had been guaranteed an exclusive theatrical release when Johansson signed on to reprise the role of Natasha Romanoff, and the actress is claiming that Disney was aware that making the movie available to stream would dissuade theatre attendance, but "did so anyway, knowingly and intentionally."

There's been some back and forth since, but the situation has now become even more contentious, as THR reports that Disney's lawyers have filed a motion demanding that Johansson’s suit be moved to arbitration. In a distinction that may prove crucial, the deal for Johansson’s services came with Marvel, not Disney.

“The plain and expansive language of the arbitration agreement easily encompasses Periwinkle’s Complaint,” states the motion. “In a futile effort to evade this unavoidable result (and generate publicity through a public filing), Periwinkle excluded Marvel as a party to this lawsuit––substituting instead its parent company Disney under contract-interference theories. But longstanding principles do not permit such gamesmanship.”

Disney points out that Black Widow played on more than 9,000 screens in the U.S. (allegedly satisfying its obligation), and has earned $367M+ at the worldwide box office along with $125M+ on streaming for a collective haul of almost $500M. They also compare Widow's performance to other MCU films, noting that the opening weekend take was “more than that of many other Marvel Cinematic Universe films, including Thor: The Dark World; Ant-Man; Ant-Man and the Wasp; and Guardians of the Galaxy.

You can check out the full arbitration provision for yourselves here. We'll keep you updated on this increasingly messy situation.

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Godzilla2000Zer
Godzilla2000Zer - 8/21/2021, 7:03 AM
Well then nobody is backing down
JFerguson
JFerguson - 8/21/2021, 7:13 AM
@Godzilla2000Zer -
WeaponXCII
WeaponXCII - 8/21/2021, 7:04 AM
Origame
Origame - 8/21/2021, 7:07 AM
@WeaponXCII - who'd have thought the law suit would be the most destructive.
TheOtherOn
TheOtherOn - 8/21/2021, 8:00 AM
@Origame - Because Law suit is for REAL, not fictional 😁
Fogs
Fogs - 8/21/2021, 3:27 PM
@WeaponXCII - hahahahahha
KWilly
KWilly - 8/21/2021, 7:10 AM
“The plain and expansive language of the arbitration agreement easily encompasses Periwinkle’s Complaint,” states the motion. “In a futile effort to evade this unavoidable result (and generate publicity through a public filing), Periwinkle excluded Marvel as a party to this lawsuit––substituting instead its parent company Disney under contract-interference theories. But longstanding principles do not permit such gamesmanship.”

drbong
drbong - 8/21/2021, 9:03 AM
@KWilly - if it went to trial the outcome which would probably be in her favor would set precedent for streaming contracts going forward. This is something the huge company is trying to avoid at all costs.
Chewtoy
Chewtoy - 8/21/2021, 9:34 AM
@drbong - pretty much every legal analysis I’ve seen suggests that she’ll lose regardless of where it goes… her side is the one trying to stretch the words of the contract.

The point of trying to make it a public fight is to get Disney to pay up to avoid the bad publicity.
Fogs
Fogs - 8/21/2021, 3:28 PM
@Chewtoy - this, 100%
drbong
drbong - 8/21/2021, 3:59 PM
@Chewtoy - stop stainning for a publicly traded entity that was founded by a Nazi sympathizer
inkniron
inkniron - 8/21/2021, 7:12 AM
Screw that. This is just a way to keep those details a secret. I want a bloody court battle so we know what those contracts say
PhoenixBlade
PhoenixBlade - 8/21/2021, 7:18 AM
Enough of this. Let’s talk about good things at Marvel. More specifically Hawkeye. More specifically Hailee Steinfeld. More specifically her latest Instagram post.
Origame
Origame - 8/21/2021, 7:22 AM
@SamaelSaint - the problem is, once we see them there will be no talking. Just staring.
PantherKing
PantherKing - 8/21/2021, 7:22 AM
Chapek your days are numbered
Itwasme
Itwasme - 8/21/2021, 7:47 AM
@PantherKing - how so?
LilJimmy
LilJimmy - 8/21/2021, 8:19 AM
@PantherKing - He’s not going anywhere. Just like How KK won’t be removed from Lucasfilm.
McMurdo
McMurdo - 8/21/2021, 8:57 AM
@PantherKing - DRAIN THE SWAMP









🤭
drbong
drbong - 8/21/2021, 9:01 AM
@LilJimmy - one has nothing to do with the other...
Chapek is not in a creative position
Doomsday8888
Doomsday8888 - 8/21/2021, 7:23 AM
Disney:


TeamScarlett:

DarkDetective
DarkDetective - 8/21/2021, 7:36 AM
@Doomsday8888 - ngl, he actually looks like Apocalypse in that GIF and that line isnt bad in its own... Shame that isnt the case in the actual movie
Doomsday8888
Doomsday8888 - 8/21/2021, 7:51 AM
@DarkDetective
Indeed, he truly does.
It still makes me laugh when people bring up that Ivan ooze shit, just goes to show the kinda damage a bts picture can do, it's true when they say that "the first impression is the last impression".

Now of course the movie ain't great and could've been much better and i'm sorry to hear that Oscar didn't have the time of his life with that role but honestly...i really liked him as Apocalypse, lots of great moments with him in it.

It is what it is. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
dragon316
dragon316 - 8/21/2021, 7:33 AM
Disney is trying avoid this pit blame on someone else not surprised sounds like Disney would lose if they went head to head with her so they let marvel take down fall as back up
DarkDetective
DarkDetective - 8/21/2021, 7:39 AM
@dragon316 - wow, you are becoming more coherent everyday... If only you could use punctuation marks
Roodi
Roodi - 8/21/2021, 7:39 AM
9,000 screens and the chick still wasn't happy? Black Widow is already her highest grossing top billing film. It's already the overachiever compared to her other films. The brand did its job. She was really expecting Avengers numbers with her film lol.
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