Scarlett Johansson Black Widow

Marvel Studios hasn’t officially slotted a ‘Black Widow’ solo movie into its schedule.  In fact, we only just learned that such a movie was in the works, with the announcement that Jac Schaeffer had been hired to handle the script.  Now it appears that it’s only a matter of “when” not “if,” as an insider has divulged that salary talks with Scarlett Johansson have at least taken place.

Reportedly, Johansson will take home an up-front salary of $25 million for the film, plus a revenue bonus if the film does well– reportedly more than $900M globally– meaning she could wind up making $31 million.  That success is not a given.  Marvel release three movies in 2017, ‘Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2’, ‘Spider-Man: Homecoming’ and ‘Thor: Ragnarok’.  All three were huge hits, but none reached $900M.  But if ticket prices continue to inch upward, that could help pad things for ‘Black Widow’.  Marvel appears confident that with the character’s high profile from prior films, that a ‘Black Widow’ movie could “eclipse” ‘Wonder Woman’‘s success.  (Not so sure I agree there.)  This payday would make Johansson the highest paid female actor in Hollywood, ahead of Emma Stone and Jennifer Lawrence, but still far behind her male costars.  Robert Downey Jr. takes home $50M for playing Iron Man/Tony Stark.

 

Reportedly, her agents are also hoping to land Johansson a producer credit on the solo film.  If that happens, she will actually be the first actor to receive such credit on a Marvel movie.  If things fall into place easily, it’s possible that ‘Black Widow’ could cartwheel into theaters by 2020.

According to the insider:

‘She has been a lucky charm for the studio in all their films, and brings her A-game during each performance.

 

‘Scarlett is adored by Disney’s top brass and is a real team player. This stand-alone movie is out there for them, but they feel it can make history.

 

‘The wages are high, but nothing she doesn’t deserve given her track record as this character.’

Do you think a ‘Black Widow’ movie can be as huge as Marvel hopes?  Can the character draw a huge audience without her teammates?

Scarlett Johansson next appears as Black Widow in ‘Avengers: Infinity War’ on May 4, 20

Source: Daily Mail