Scarlett Johansson vs. Sam Altman Is the ‘Black Widow’ Sequel We Didn’t Know We Needed

If Scarlett Johansson feared “Black Widow” never got its due because Disney mishandled the franchise, perhaps she should ask Bob Chapek and Sam Altman to get a different perspective on her superhero character.

The A-list actress might have regrets about how her 2021 Marvel release was stymied by the decision to simultaneously offer it in theaters and streaming. The ensuing legal drama surely didn’t endear herself to Disney, putting the possibility of any “Black Widow” sequels on ice.

However, that drama also gave rise to an unexpected new public persona for Johansson, in which she proved herself as combative as her fictional alter ego. In retrospect, the “Widow” controversy was the first nail in the coffin of Chapek’s stint as Disney CEO. 

Lo and behold, several years later Johansson has emerged yet again as the heroine foil to an even bigger villain CEO in the form of OpenAI’s Altman. But while the stakes may seem so much greater this time around given what artificial intelligence could mean for the existence of the planet, and while Johansson might seem like a bit player in the scheme of Altman’s plans, the mistake he has made in his dealings with her is not a small one. 

If only Altman had checked in with Chapek first to realize who he was wrangling with. Hell hath no fury like an actor who believes a studio is not only going back on its word to give a film an exclusively theatrical wide release but mounting an absurdly overheated public defense of that strategy, intending to portray Johansson as “callous” to the streaming needs of fans who might want to avoid the box office during a pandemic.

No wonder Johansson’s camp had a nuclear reaction to Disney’s defense, with no less than the CAA chieftain who happens to be her agent, Bryan Lourd, issuing a blistering rejoinder to the studio’s “callous” statement with an open letter of his own.

It was a rare instance of the kind of bare-knuckled back-and-forth that typically doesn’t leave Hollywood’s backrooms spilling into public view, and the first of what became many indications that Chapek was not suited for the top job at Disney.

And it’s entirely possible that had the “Black Widow” controversy centered around a less courageous person than Johansson, the whole sorry affair may never have come to light. 

It’s probably a safe bet that Altman never heard about any of this in his own dealings with Johansson, whom he reportedly pursued for permission to be the voice of ChatGPT then didn’t let her repeated rejections of his request stand in the way of using an actress’ voice that sounds eerily like her as the chatbot personal assistant to Joaquin Phoenix in Spike Jonze’s 2013 film “Her” (OpenAI denies this but suspended usage of the voice).

Perhaps Altman may be the only person on Earth who was surprised when the actor issued a public letter last week taking him to task for appropriating her voice without permission. This has been a growing concern among actors, as was made clear during last year’s strikes.

To call what Altman did here stupid is a gross understatement for multiple reasons. First of all, “stupid” suggests ignorance when it’s entirely possible OpenAI knew full well the implications of its decision and just didn’t care. This is a company that is just so big and powerful it simply can’t be bothered to fear the consequences of its actions.

Maybe that’s right, except for the fact that Altman and OpenAI are supposed to be selling the world on the notion that it’s taking a safety-first approach to artificial intelligence yet carries itself with all the sensitivity of a bull in a china shop. 

Altman in particular seems to be out to demonstrate Elon Musk-level tone deafness, lurching from scandal to scandal with alarming frequency. And while his entanglement with Johansson might seem the most trifling of his sins, it’s actually arguably among his most grievous offenses, because this one will play to the cheap seats: It gives a tabloid-friendly accessibility to AI issues that heretofore might have been too complicated to be digestible to the TMZ crowd.

Now millions of people who might not have been paying attention are going to start to learn what OpenAI has been up to. 

Then there’s the matter of timing, which couldn’t be worse for Altman. OpenAI just signed a $250 million five-year deal this week with News Corp. to license its content this week. It could be among the first of many major pacts to come between the tech and content companies that involve demonstrating some respect for intellectual property at a time when Alphabet and Meta will be bidding right alongside OpenAI. 

If Altman doesn’t straighten up and fly right quick, his competitors will be ingesting the script for “Black Widow 3: The Curse of Another Reckless CEO” before OpenAI does.