SNL: Jason Sudeikis Jokes Disney "Screwed" Scarlett Johansson
Jason Sudeikis took a swipe at Disney during his return to Saturday Night Live last night over the company's legal battle with Scarlett Johannsson. Sudeikis hosted last night's episode of Saturday Night and reprised some of his characters from his time as a member of the show's cast, including Joe Biden and the Devil. Sudeikis showed as the Devil up during the show's Weekend Update segment playing off of host Colin Jost. During the conversation, Sudekis' devil became offended by Jost suggesting he was behind QAnon. The devil threatened to renege on his deal with Jost to allow him to marry Johansson. The Devil then accused Jost of "baby-trapping" Johansson and then quipped that he wasn't sure whether Jost or Disney screwed Johansson more. You can watch the bit in the video below.
Johansson brought legal action against Disney over the studio's decision to release Black Widow onto Disney+ in July instead of exclusively in theaters. Johansson contended that the decision cost her millions of dollars from the film's box office back end. The public back and forth between the two parties got ugly before they eventually settled out of court.
"I'm very pleased that we have been able to come to a mutual agreement with Scarlett Johansson regarding Black Widow," Disney Studios Content Chairman Alan Bergman said in a statement. "We appreciate her contributions to the Marvel Cinematic Universe and look forward to working together on a number of upcoming projects, including Disney's Tower of Terror."
Johansson added, "I am happy to have resolved our differences with Disney. I'm incredibly proud of the work we've done together over the years and have greatly enjoyed my creative relationship with the team. I look forward to continuing our collaboration in years to come."
Worldwide, Black Widow made $379 million at the box office. Disney claimed that Black Widow brought in more than $60 million in Disney+ Premier Access buy-ins when it debuted. The conflict between Disney and Johansson arose from a contract written before the COVID-19 pandemic, which assumed Black Widow's theatrical release and did not account for streaming debut income.
Black Widow is the only Marvel Studios movie given the Disney+ dual release treatment. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings went to theaters only when it debuted in September and soon surpassed Black Widow at the box office.
What do you think? Let us know in the comments. Black Widow is now streaming on Disney+ for all subscribers.