The Russo Brothers are some of the hottest names in Hollywood. Their handling of some of the MCU’s most critically acclaimed and financially successful films have given them a large amount of respect and creative control when it comes to their projects–especially when Avengers 3 & 4 are some of the highest grossing films of all time. They most likely wish to return to the MCU with Phases 4 and 5, possibly to do an adaptation of the Secret Wars story arc, but a monkey wrench may have lodged itself into those plans.
With the recent lawsuit filed by Scarlet Johansson against the Walt Disney Company, the Russo Brothers apparently have cold feet when it comes to returning to the MCU. They apparently “hit an impasse” in recent negotiations for a potential return, due to the fact that they are concerned with how their possible project would be released.
Black Widow‘s release on simultaneous theatrical and Disney+ Premier Access streaming is what caused this whole issue, the film was meant to be theatrical only release but the co-digital release dug into the profits, causing promised royalties for Ms. Johansson to be greatly reduced.
The Russo brothers have concerns that Disney would do the same thing with their project, undermining its success in terms of box office returns. They want to avoid the possible headache of loosing out on royalties due to technicalities in the contracts. Other people like Kevin Feige are also apparently upset with Disney’s Streaming tactics, which are all apparently spear headed by Disney CEO Bob Chepek.
Disney’s continuous focus on streaming over theatrical and television releases seems to keep biting them in the butt. Disney has complete control over the terms of releases on their platform versus theatrical so they clearly want to get as much profit from any deal they make. But this attitude is costing them acting and writing/directing talent, along with dissatisfied customers who don’t want to pay $30 plus the Disney+ subscription fee.
We will get a definitive answer on whether or not the directing duo will return depending on how the Black Widow lawsuit plays out.
Source: Screen Rant
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