Everyone loves the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man, but sadly, his appearance within the Marvel Cinematic Universe has come to an end. Disney—the ever-growing media giant—ushered the Sony-owned Spider-Man into the MCU back in 2016 with the release of “Captain America: Civil War.” Ever since, things looked great for both companies. Spider-Man appeared in four more Marvel films, with “Spider-Man: Homecoming” and “Spider-Man: Far From Home” bringing in nearly $2 billion.
However, according to Deadline, president of Marvel Studios Kevin Feige announced that Spider-Man will no longer have a home at Disney due to a financial disagreement with Spidey’s mother company, Sony. Disney approached Sony wanting to renegotiate the percentage of revenue each company brought in from the franchise, with Disney demanding an aggressive fifty-fifty split. After months of bartering—more like bickering—Sony had enough and decided to sever itself from the MCU.
WHO IS THE BAD GUY HERE?
Obviously, someone has to be responsible for crushing the hopes and dreams of millions, but who: Disney’s greed or Sony’s pride? Many would immediately turn to Disney since they were the ones who approached Sony with such an outrageous offer, wanting to split the profits fifty-fifty. Newsweek reported that Sony did make a counteroffer, but Disney refused to deviate from their original proposal. On the other hand, while Sony attempted to counteroffer, they seem unconcerned about making a deal with Marvel since they believe that director Jon Watts, actor Tom Holland and producer Amy Pascal “will be enough to keep the Spider-Man franchise relevant for future projects.”
Therefore, Disney and Sony are both at fault. According to Variety, Sony recently commented that “For the moment the door is closed” on making a deal with Disney. Despite this certainty, it would remain in both companies’ best interest to come to an agreement in the near future because neither can function without the other. Disney has all of their Marvel films planned out in phases in order for the entire Universe to unfold coherently. However, without Spider-Man, that Universe now has a gaping black hole. In addition, Sony will take Spider-Man solely as its own and try to recreate its third live-action franchise with Holland’s character, when Spider-Man really belongs to something bigger than his own universe. He belongs to the MCU.
Since Disney and Sony are now divorced, they both have to mend this entire disaster effectively. Disney will need to devise a way to conclude the cliffhanger at the end of “Spider-Man: Far From Home,” as well as his relationships with the other various characters and heroes within the MCU. It will then be Sony’s responsibility to creatively introduce Holland’s Spider-Man into a new universe, entirely separate from the MCU, or usher him into Venom’s pre-existing storyline.
Although, while bringing Venom and Spider-Man together may seem like the easiest and most obvious choice for the studio to make, it could actually prove to be more difficult than anticipated since both Spider-Man and Venom are enemies, yet both take on heroic roles within their own respective films. So, if both were to come together into one universe, which one would be the hero, and which the villain? And finally, Sony will have to be sure that they can handle the Spider-Man franchise all on their own since their last two solo attempts with Toby Maguire and Andrew Garfield were not sustainable.
SPIDER-MAN FRANCHISE FUTURE
So, what can we expect next? According to Deadline, Sony has already planned to create two more Spider-Man films in the near future, but if things continue to stand as they are now, neither Marvel nor Kevin Feige will have anything to do with the projects. In addition, the severance between Disney and Sony raises many questions. Is Sony going to attempt another Spider-Man reboot? Are we going to have to watch Uncle Ben die again? How is Marvel going to resolve the cliffhanger at the end of “Spider-Man: Far From Home?” Was Tony Stark’s mentorship and father-like attitude with Spider-Man within the MCU all for nothing?
Amid the shock and confusion, Tom Holland finally spoke his own mind on the matter at D23, a Disney fan convention, and reassured his fans despite the sudden change. So, while Holland’s Spider-Man may no longer have a part in the MCU, he still has a place in our hearts, and along with millions around the globe, we say to our beloved hero: No matter what the future may hold, we love you 3000.
