Disney's Loss Is Apple's Gain: Scarlett Johansson's $100M Streaming Deal

“Black Widow” star Scarlett Johansson has been signed by Apple AAPL as the star and producer of “Project Artemis,” a deal that is reportedly worth $100 million.

What Happened: Deadline is reporting that Johansson will be co-starring opposite fellow Marvel Cinematic Universe star Chris Evans in the film, which will be directed and co-produced by Jason Bateman. Details on “Project Artemis” have not been disclosed, although the film is reportedly focused on the space race.

Johansson is starring in and producing another film for Apple called “Bride,” a variation on the “Frankenstein” story about a woman who is built by an inventor but finds herself rejected by the wider society.

Johansson and Evans were to co-star in Apple’s romantic action film “Ghosted,” but she was forced to drop out due to scheduling problems and was replaced by Ana de Armas.

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Why It Matters: Johannson had been the box office darling for the Walt Disney Co. DIS thanks to her performances as Black Widow in the Marvel films, but last year the actress and the company had a falling out when she filed a lawsuit over having her “Black Widow” salary linked to the film’s theatrical release.

The studio gave the film a simultaneous theatrical and streaming release, which Johansson said violated her contract and ensured she would receive less money for her performance.

While the lawsuit was settled out of court, Disney dropped her from the planned “Tower of Terror” feature that she was slated to star in and produce and closed the door on any future collaborations.

“Project Artemis” is the latest effort to reteam Johansson with Evans. In early 2020, the two were cited in multiple entertainment media sources as being in talks to star in a remake of the musical “Little Shop of Horrors” for the AT&T T subsidiary Warner Bros. 

Evans told an interviewer in March the project has been put on indefinite hold because the projected film budget became too large.

Photo: Scarlett Johansson in "Black Widow," courtesy of Disney.