Marvel Studios
Mere days after the Kevin Feige produced Spider-Man: Far From Home surpassed Skyfall to become the highest-grossing film in the history of the studio, a bombshell report from Deadline indicates that Sony has cut ties with Marvel Studios.
As a result of the dispute, Marvel Studios ace Kevin Feige will not serve as a producer on future Spider-Man films. At this time, there were plans for two more Spider-Man films with Tom Holland in the lead role and Jon Watts in the director’s chair.
According to the report from Deadline, the standoff between the two Hollywood powers “all comes down to money”:
Disney asked that future Spider-Man films be a 50/50 co-financing arrangement between the studios, and there were discussions that this might extend to other films in the Spider-Man universe.
Sony turned that offer down flat, and I don’t believe they even came back to the table to figure out a compromise. Led by Tom Rothman and Tony Vinciquerra, Sony just simply didn’t want to share its biggest franchise. Sony proposed keeping the arrangement going under the current terms where Marvel receives in the range of 5% of first dollar gross, sources said. Disney refused.
Essentially Sony has made a decision that is similar to saying, thank you, but we think we can win the championship without Michael Jordan. [via Deadline]
Obviously, given that Spider-Man is still technically a Sony-controlled character, this breakdown in relations puts his future in the Marvel Cinematic Universe in question, despite the fact that he’s been largely positioned to take over the mantle of Tony Stark/Iron Man in Avengers: Endgame and Spider-Man: Far From Home.
While potentially losing Spider-Man is certainly a massive blow for Marvel Studios, it’s an even bigger loss for Sony, as prior to Marvel Studios’ involvement, they were essentially 0-for-3 on their three most recent Spidey flicks: Spider-Man 3, The Amazing Spider-Man, and The Amazing Spider-Man 2.
Furthermore, given the rabid nature of Marvel Cinematic Universe fans, it’s completely reasonable to imagine that they intentionally shun and ignore any future Sony-produced Spider-Man films out of frustration that the character was removed from the MCU.
Hopefully, this is merely a negotiation tactic from either side and a deal will get locked in before production on the next Spider-Man movie begins. Otherwise, fans may have to say goodbye to Marvel’s most iconic character.