Long before Ralph Ineson was cast as Galactus in “Fantastic Four,” and before he took Disney to court over his “Willow” injury, a Marvel Cinematic Universe staple sued Disney. Scarlett Johansson — the actor famously behind Natasha “Black Widow” Romanoff since 2010’s “Iron Man 2” — filed against Disney in 2021 over the release of “Black Widow.” Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the film was released on Disney+ as well as in theaters, which she claimed was a violation of her contract. It explicitly stated that the film would be released exclusively in theaters.
As a result of the hybrid release of “Black Widow,” Johansson claimed that she lost out on additional bonus profits based on the film’s box office performance. Within a few months and plenty of public back-and-forth, both sides were able to resolve their dispute, with Johansson reportedly walking away with a payout of around $40 million in the end. Since then, Johansson has asserted that there’s no bad blood between her and Disney, and despite Natasha’s death in “Avengers: Endgame,” Johansson isn’t done with the MCU just yet. She’s said to be working on a top-secret project with Marvel Studios.
Time — and money — seems to heal all wounds in the world of Marvel. Just as they didn’t cut ties with Scarlett Johansson, past legal issues with Disney won’t prevent Ralph Ineson from working at Marvel Studios by any means.
