Scarlett Johansson comments on her Black Widow lawsuit

Scarlett Johansson and Florence Pugh in Black Widow
(Image credit: Disney/Marvel)

Scarlett Johansson has commented on her Black Widow lawsuit.

"I think it's important in general to know your own worth, and stand up for yourself," the actor told The Associated Press. "And I think in this industry, I've been working for such a long time, it's been almost 30 years, and so I've seen – there's so much that has shifted over those 30 years, and I think sometime before, maybe, you would feel, 'Oh gosh, if I stand up for myself, I might never work again, or I might be blacklisted in some way.'"

She continued: "Thankfully that's changing in the zeitgeist, and honestly I think that happening in an industry that's as huge and universal as the entertainment industry, it's really important to lead that charge."

Johansson sued Disney for breach of contract after Black Widow had a hybrid Disney Plus Premier Access and theatrical release. The lawsuit was eventually settled, and the actor is still onboard the upcoming Tower of Terror movie. Disney has since shifted back to exclusive theatrical runs for its releases, like Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Eternals, and Encanto.

The Black Widow actor made the comments at the ceremony for her American Cinematheque Award, and at the same event, it was revealed that she'll be producing on a mystery Marvel project unrelated to Natasha Romanoff.

While Natasha may have exited the MCU in Avengers: Endgame, Florence Pugh's Yelena Belova is set to appear in Hawkeye. "I can't speak to that," Hawkeye director Rhys Thomas told 12DOVE of Yelena's involvement in the series. "But yes, we know their past, and obviously what happened in Endgame. We know in these first two episodes that Clint's dealing with the fallout of that. But in terms of how they meet, I can't – I'll just pretend I don't know. Imagine it's a happy meeting, where they talk over coffee and work things out."

Hawkeye is releasing weekly on Disney Plus. While you wait for the next episode, check out our complete guide to Marvel Phase 4 for everything else the MCU has in store for us. 

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Molly Edwards
Senior Entertainment Writer

I'm a Senior Entertainment Writer here at 12DOVE, covering all things film and TV for the site's Total Film and SFX sections. I previously worked on the Disney magazines team at Immediate Media, and also wrote on the CBeebies, MEGA!, and Star Wars Galaxy titles after graduating with a BA in English. 

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