Samuel Jeong, Writer
Back in 2015-2016, Marvel fans around the world were overjoyed to learn the news that Sony was finally allowing Marvel (and Disney) to feature Spider-man in their films! Of course, Sony continued to have ownership over the web-slinging character, but at the moment, this seemed like a promising partnership between the two competing entertainment corporations. Marvel fans were finally getting what they’ve been dreaming of, especially due to the utter disappointment with Sony’s last Spider-man movie, The Amazing Spider-man 2. That is, until this summer. As many readers may know, Spider-Man: Far From Home was released this past July. Due to the ongoing success of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, this movie easily surpassed one-billion dollars at the box-office: the first-ever Spider-man movie to do so!
Now, after this rushing success, Kevin Feige, president of the MCU, asked Sony for 50/50 coproductions between Sony and Disney, instead of their current deal of Marvel/Disney gaining 5% of gross box-office revenue. This seemed fair to most Marvel fans, considering how the MCU was the corporation that finally helped Spider-man become an even greater success than Sony ever did. However, Sony did not see it this way. Perhaps they were a bit miffed by how Marvel made a one-billion-dollar income with Spider-man. Perhaps they wanted a third chance with Spider-man. Or perhaps they always regretted giving Marvel the reigns for the Spider-man movies. Or simply put, they were just upset at the jump from a 95/5 deal to a 50/50 deal. Hence, Sony took back Spider-man as their own, to the dismay of fans across the globe…
Tom Holland still has one solo film left in the MCU, another rumoured Marvel movie, and perhaps many more due to his promising portrayal of the character. All of these plans were crushed due to this whole feud. During the next couple weeks of this feud, there were continuous rumours that sprouted, mostly about the promises of a new deal forming between Sony and Disney. There were even strange rumours of Spider-man starring in the next Venom movie. Oh, did I mention that Sony is taking all of the supporting Spider-man characters too? Yep, that includes the lovable Ned, the mysterious MJ, and spoiled brat Flash.
Another week or so later, our friendly-neighbourhood Tom Holland answered the call: Spider-man was back in the MCU. It’s been released that he played an immense role in reconciling the two studios. Holland met with Disney CEO Bob Iger and Sony film chairman Tom Rothman multiple times. He somehow convinced Rothman to reconsider the proposal before also appealing to Iger. Evidently, Holland has a special connection to the character of Peter Parker.
“It’s been a crazy week, but I want to let you know I’m grateful from the bottom of my heart. I love you 3,000.”
– Tom Holland
The past few weeks have obviously taken a toll on Holland, but fans across the globe are deeply thankful for his work and care for his fans.
So far, it’s been released that Sony is allowing Marvel to make their one last planned Spider-man movie to end their trilogy. Furthermore, it seems like Marvel will now get 25% of profits, along with Sony’s freedom to incorporate Spider-man in their own superhero movies. So far, no other details about the deal or further plans for Spider-man after this third-installment has been publicly released yet. After the third movie, scheduled for release on July 2021, it’ll most likely start another round of negotiations between Sony and Disney. Hopefully, by then Sony and Disney will have made a new deal concerning Spider-man, preferably one where Spider-man remains in the MCU.
Well, let’s keep our fingers crossed, Marvel fans!
