Scarlett Johansson’s Black Widow lawsuit left everyone surprised but it seems it is now paving way for better talent deals for actors when it comes to their future projects. Disney CEO Bob Chapek recently spoke about the changes being made to talent deals in relation to the film release windows. Considering the pandemic changed things significantly, Chapek stated that a “reset” is in motion when it comes to agreements with actors.
While the CEO did not mention Johansson while speaking at the Goldman Sachs Communacopia Conference on Tuesday, Chapek said, “We’ve got a deal that’s conceived under a certain set of conditions that actually results in a movie that’s being released in a completely different set, so there’s a bit of a reset that’s going on right now, and ultimately we’ll think about that as we do our future talent deals and plan for that and make sure that that’s incorporated”, via The Hollywood Reporter.
The Disney CEO further also maintained that while the changes may be implemented keeping in mind the future projects, currently the studio is trying “to do right by the talent” and figuring out a way to bridge the gap.
Johansson’s lawsuit against Disney became an eye-opener of sorts. The actress sued the studio in July claiming breach of contract after Black Widow was released on the streaming platform. The actress claimed that her film’s streaming release would cut down the compensation that she was promised via box office following a wide theatrical release.
Bob Chapek during his recent appearance at the conference also maintained that the studio will continue to compensate the talent “fairly” and added, “per the terms of the contracts that they agreed to us with.”
