Benedict Cumberbatch Is ‘Sad’ To See Scarlett Johansson & Disney At Odds: ‘The Whole Thing’s Just A Bit Of A Mess’

Benedict Cumberbatch can’t say he enjoys watching Scarlett Johansson and Disney do battle over “Black Widow”.

Cumberbatch talks to The Hollywood Reporter about “Avengers: Endgame” co-star Johansson’s ongoing lawsuit with Disney, in which the actress alleges the simultaneous release of “Black Widow” in theatres and on Disney+ breached a stipulation in her contract.

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“It’s sad what’s going on between the lawyers,” Cumberbatch says. “Just the verbiage and the accusations of, ‘Put it in a global pandemic context.’ The whole thing’s just a bit of a mess.

“We’re trying to understand what the revenue streams should be for artists that contribute to the billion-dollar business that is Disney. And it has to be contractualized. How does an artist’s normal compensation with box office bonuses, how does it work?”

Cumberbatch, who was nominated for a Best Actor Oscar for “The Imitation Game”, says the streaming age is in full effect and it’s something talent and studios will have to navigate.

“It’s a new paradigm, and it’s a very complex one,” he explains. “No one saw this coming, and no one should use hindsight to say, ‘Well, it should have been done.’ That was the first of these films that was going to get a cinematic release during the pandemic and got stalled and stalled and stalled.

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“It’s very new territory,” he concludes in his interview for THR‘s “TIFF Preview” issue.

Cumberbatch stars alongside Tom Holland and Zendaya in “Spider-Man: No Way Home” premiering Dec. 17. He will subsequently appear in “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” with Elizabeth Olsen and Benedict Wong on March 25.