A Sony spokesperson has confirmed the studio will no longer partner with Marvel to share Spider-Man after negotiations broke down recently…
Spider-Man has left the Marvel Cinematic Universe after negotiations between Sony and Disney broke down recently when the two sides couldn’t come to an agreement on a deal going forward.
Since 2016, Marvel has partnered with Sony to include Spider-Man in their film universe, which saw Tom Holland cast as the webslinger who first appeared in ‘Captain America: Civil War’ before moving onto his own solo film, ‘Spider-Man: Homecoming’. Sony owns the rights to Spider-Man and all of the characters associated with that universe but the studio struck a deal to partner with Marvel after ‘Amazing Spider-Man 2’ was met with harsh criticism and a less than stellar box office.
The most recent collaboration between Marvel and Sony resulted in ‘Spider-Man: Far From Home’ grossing over $1 billion worldwide. It is now the highest grossing film in Sony history but it appears the studio wants to keep the majority of the profits going forward after Marvel and Disney reportedly wanted a 50/50 split while attempting to negotiate a new deal.
Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige spearheaded the efforts to involve Spider-Man in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and he served as lead producer for both of the recent solo films released by Sony.
“Much of today’s news about Spider-Man has mischaracterized recent discussions about Kevin Feige’s involvement in the franchise,” Sony officials said in a statement sent to the Hollywood Reporter. “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 might change in the future, but understand that the many new responsibilities that Disney has given him – including all their newly added Marvel properties – do not allow time for him to work on IP they do not own. Kevin is terrific and we are grateful for his help and guidance and appreciate the path he has helped put us on, which we will continue.”
Feige will definitely have his hands full as he prepares to launch the upcoming Phase 4 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe after wrapping the wildly popular ‘Infinity Saga’ that ended with ‘Avengers: Endgame’ as the highest grossing film of all time.
Feige will also be overseeing the addition of characters from the X-Men universe as well as the Fantastic Four after Disney purchased the majority of FOX’s assets in a deal that closed earlier this year.
Sadly it appears Feige won’t have a hand in future Spider-Man projects, which also means none of the characters from the Marvel Cinematic Universe would be allowed to appear in any future solo films from Sony.
