It’s going on eight years since Scarlett Johansson’s debut as Black Widow, and in that time, the sleeper agent formerly known as Natasha Romanova has grown into one of the undisputed pillars of Marvel’s franchise. An MCU MVP, if you will.
That loyalty has been rewarded with substantial roles across The Winter Soldier and Captain America: Civil War, while we fully expect Black Widow to enjoy more screentime during Avengers 4 than she did in the super-sized Infinity War – ditto for Chris Evans, who has since announced his retirement as Captain America.
Circling back to Black Widow, though, and The Hollywood Reporter brings word today that Scarlett Johansson has scored a huge $15M payday for the planned standalone movie – an eight-figure sum on par with what Chris Evans and Chris Hemsworth earned on Civil War and Thor: Ragnarok, respectively.
We should stress that a Marvel spokesperson reached out to THR to dispute these figures, stating: “Marvel Studios disputes the accuracy of these numbers, and as a matter of policy, we never publicly disclose salaries or deal terms.”
That’s all well and good, but if this alleged $15M pay packet is accurate, then it would herald a progressive step in the right direction for Marvel Studios, given the ongoing dispute over the gender wage gap – both in Hollywood and beyond. What’s more, Brie Larson’s seven-picture deal is said to begin with a $5 million payday for next year’s Captain Marvel solo movie, which will undoubtedly lock her into “multiple franchises” all across the MCU.
Word is Marvel’s standalone Black Widow movie is on course for a release in 2020, where it’ll presumably be joined by the Doctor Strange sequel from Scott Derrickson and Benedict Cumberbatch.