Due to the fact that Sony Pictures and Marvel Studios have not been able to reach a new agreement for the rights of Spider-Man, the arachnid superhero will no longer be part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. This means that after a collaboration of five movies, the character will go back to being on his own and no other MCU hero will appear in his future films.
In a statement on Twitter, Sony responded in the following way, "Much of today's news about Spider-Man has mischaracterized recent discussions about Kevin Feige's involvement in the franchise. We are disappointed, but respect Disney's decision not to have him continue as a lead producer of our next live action Spider-Man film. We hope this can change in the future, but understand that the many new responsibilities Disney has given him, including all of his recently added Marvel properties, do not allow him time to work on IPs that are not his own. Kevin is great, and we are grateful for his help and guidance and appreciate the path he has helped us follow, which we will continue."
The root of this problem dates back to the time when Marvel decided to sell the film rights of its characters to various studios to avoid disappearing. This resulted in the X-Men becoming the property of Fox and Spider-Man of Sony, to mention a few examples.
Much of today’s news about Spider-Man has mischaracterized recent discussions about Kevin Feige’s involvement in the franchise. We are disappointed, but respect Disney’s decision not to have him continue as a lead producer of our next live action Spider-Man film. (1/3)
Later on, Disney bought Marvel, created the MCU, bought Fox, and in 2015 signed an agreement with Sony that allowed Spider-Man to appear in three Marvel movies while some heroes did the same in Spider-Man's films.
MARVEL VS. SONY
According to Deadline, during the new negotiation, Disney requested a greater participation in the franchise's earnings, 50% instead of the 5% that Marvel received from box office revenues, while Sony intended to maintain the current economic conditions of the agreement.
Likewise, Disney's intention was to apply the new percentage to all of the Spider-Man universe films, which not only includes "Venom 2" but also all the spin-offs that Sony has been preparing, including "Morbius" and "Kraven." Something that Sony was not willing to accept.
In addition, after the success of "Spider-Man: Homecoming" in 2017, which grossed $880 million worldwide, and "Spider-Man: Far From Home" in 2019, which grossed $1.1 billion, it seems that Sony plans to continue on its own.
Despite the differences between Marvel and Sony, Tom Holland has a contract to play Spider-Man in the upcoming movies (Photo: Sony Pictures)
Despite the differences between Marvel and Sony, Tom Holland has a contract to play Spider-Man in the upcoming movies (Photo: Sony Pictures)
WHAT DOES IT MEAN FOR "SPIDER-MAN" AND THE MCU?
Regarding the next two Spider-Man movies, it is expected that they will continue under the direction of Jon Watts, who was also in charge of "Homecoming" and "Far From Home", and that actor Tom Holland will continue to portray Peter Parker.
However, they will no longer have the collaboration or vision of Kevin Feige, the president of Marvel Studios.