Over the past decade and change, superhero movies have become the most popular (and profitable) genre in the film world. But there’s been some drama along the way, including Scarlett Johansson’s recently settled lawsuit against Disney over Black Widow. And now X-Men actress Jennifer Lawrence has reacted to the ScarJo lawsuit.
Jennifer Lawrence starred as Mystique in a whopping four X-Men movies, ending with Dark Phoenix. Similarly, Scarlett Johansson was with the MCU starting from Phase One, before finally starring in her own solo movie with Black Widow. But the movie’s release on Disney+ complicated things and negatively affected Johansson’s fiscal take. Luckily the lawsuit was ultimately settled, but it’s a subject that many A-listers have weighed in. Lawrence recently offered her perspective, saying:
I thought that was extremely brave. If two parties understand how a movie is going to be released, and then it turns out that one of the parties did not agree to that, that’s unfair. She was also crowning! She was giving birth.
There you have it. Another Hollywood figure has thrown their support behind Scarlett Johansson's lawsuit former against Disney. And Jennifer Lawrence seems to be approaching the situation with clarity, addressing the personal and professional stakes of that situation.
Jennifer Lawrence’s comments to Vanity Fair help to show how industry professionals perceived the unprecedented drama with Scarlett Johansson and Marvel over Black Widow. While the suit was settled and Johansson will continue working with Disney, that suit likely set a precedent for future disputes around streaming releases.
As previously mentioned, Jennifer Lawrence isn’t the only celebrity who has thrown their support behind Scarlett Johansson’s risk to go against Disney. MCU stars like Elizabeth Olsen and Benedict Cumberbatch also seemingly put their support behind their fellow Avenger at the time. And the stakes were especially high since the situation was unfolding a Johansson was about to give birth to her child with Colin Jost.
The situation was settled amicably, and it sounds like Scarlett Johansson's partnership with Disney will continue for the foreseeable future. In addition to producing the upcoming Tower of Terror movie, Johansson is also working with Kevin Feige on a mysterious Marvel project outside of Black Widow. And there are no doubt countless fan theories about what that might entail.
It should be interesting to see how often streaming releases occur in the coming years, especially as more and more moviegoers head back to theaters. Black Widow performed well opening weekend, but had a steep dropoff seemingly as as result of pirating. Since then Disney has gone back to exclusive theatrical windows for projects like Shang-Chi and Eternals.
The next installment in the MCU is Spider-Man: No Way Home on December 17th. In the meantime, check out the 2021 movie release dates to plan your next movie experience.
