Back in 2021, Black Widow star Scarlett Johansson 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 in Cate Shortland's prequel film. The Fly Me To the Moon star also claimed that Disney was aware that making the movie available to stream would dissuade theatre attendance, but "did so anyway, knowingly and intentionally."
The situation was exacerbated when Disney issued a response shortly after the news of the filing broke, calling the lawsuit "sad and distressing in its callous disregard for the horrific and prolonged global effects of the COVID-19 pandemic."
During an interview with The New York Times, Johansson was asked about the lawsuit and her current relationship with Disney.
“I don’t hold a grudge,” she responded. “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.’”
While Johansson is unlikely to return as Natasha Romanoff (though a Multiversal Variant is always an option), she is still producing an upcoming project for Marvel Studios, which is rumored to be a Blonde Phantom Disney+ series.
"It is still happening. Yes," Johansson told ComicBook.com during the Asteroid City junket last year. "It is still happening, [but] not currently because nothing is happening right now. We're all sort of in this holding pattern as we wait out the writers' strike and potentially our own guild strike, and so on and so forth."
"Right before the strike, we were in the middle of developing it, and now everything is at a simmer," she added.
Johansson was also asked if the Avengers group chat is still active.
“If somebody’s gotten terrible reviews, that could be something that comes up. The Avengers, we’re like a family. We’ve been through an incredible experience over a decade plus of time. It was life-changing for all of us.”
Johansson is currently doing the press rounds to promote her romantic-comedy Fly Me to the Moon, which is now playing in theaters. She is also in production on Universal's new Jurassic World movie.