Marvel shows Scarlett Johansson the money: $15M for standalone film.

(Via @gabrielmalor.) Nice hunk of change, that: “Scarlett Johansson, who has appeared in six movies as Black Widow, is finally landing a $15 million payday for an upcoming stand-alone film centered on the Marvel superheroine, The Hollywood Reporter has learned.” This is Thor and Captain America-level cash; it also makes a good deal of sense, because I’m pretty sure that every person who reads this who also goes to movies in the theater will be planning to watch Black Widow acrobatically beat up a remarkable number of bad guys.

They’re also bringing back Ryan Coogler for Black Panther 2: “…Coogler’s camp shook off the peer pressure and took its time in making a deal, which occurred under the radar some time ago. Sources say the plan at this stage is for Coogler to write the script next year with an eye to start production in either late 2019 or early 2020.” To paraphrase somebody or other, the negotiations probably involved just how many dump trucks full of money Coogler would be getting.  ScarJo, Ryan, bubbelehs: your rule of thumb here should be all that the traffic will bear.  Make ’em make it rain.