"The whole thing's just a bit of a mess"
Benedict Cumberbatch has had his say on the 'Black Widow' lawsuit that Scarlett Johansson has brought against Disney.
Aside from 'Sherlock', Benedict Cumberbatch is probably known for his role as Doctor Strange in the MCU.
The actor was recently the lead of the 'What If...?' episode that dropped last week. The episode asked "What If... Doctor Strange Lost His Heart Instead of His Hands?"
For anyone not up to date, Scarlett Johansson has sued Disney for breach of contract in recent weeks.
Attorneys for Johansson allege that the star’s contract was breached when the studio opted not to debut 'Black Widow' exclusively in theatres (they released the movie on streaming service Disney+ on the same date).
Much of Johansson’s compensation was tied to the box office performance of 'Black Widow', which they argued suffered due to the nature of the movie's release.
Fellow MCU star Elizabeth Olsen has already voiced her support of Johansson, and now Benedict Cumberbatch joins them.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, he said: "It's sad what's going on between the lawyers. Just the verbiage and the accusations of, 'Put it in a global pandemic context', the whole thing's just a bit of a mess."
He continued: "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 contractualised.
"How does an artist's normal compensation with box office bonuses, how does it work? It's a new paradigm, and it's a very complex one.
"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. It's very new territory."
Benedict Cumberbatch next plays Doctor Strange in 'Spider-Man: No Way Home', which hits cinemas on December 17th.
Next year, he'll reprise the role in 'Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness'.