Spider-Man's MCU future in question after Disney-Sony deal hits standoff
Spider-Man may be swinging out of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
EW has confirmed that Marvel Studios is ending its partnership with Sony Pictures on the Spider-Man franchise, thanks to a disagreement over co-financing.
After successfully partnering on 2017’s Spider-Man: Homecoming and this summer’s Far From Home, Sony and the Disney-owned Marvel have come to a stalemate regarding future films. As a result, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige is no longer on board to produce any new Spider-Man solo films. This also means that it’s unlikely that Tom Holland‘s webslinger will appear in any future MCU films or TV series, or that Marvel’s heroes would factor into forthcoming Spider-Man projects.
According to Deadline, which first broke the news, Disney had reportedly asked to share co-financing on future Spider-Man films 50-50, while Sony wanted the financing arrangement to stay roughly the same as it has been on Homecoming and Far From Home.
The Spider-Man franchise is Sony’s most valuable current brand — and just one day ago, Far From Home officially surpassed Skyfall to become the studio’s highest-grossing movie of all time. Sony still holds the rights to Spider-Man and and connected comics characters, but several years ago, the studio struck a deal with Marvel to allow Spidey to appear in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Thanks to that partnership, Holland’s Peter Parker made his debut in 2016’s Captain America: Civil War and played key roles in Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame. Meanwhile, Feige signed on to help produce Sony’s solo Spider-Man films, bringing over MCU characters like Robert Downey Jr.’s Iron Man and Samuel L. Jackson’s Nick Fury.
A solo Spider-Man sequel has yet to be officially announced, and the character was notably absent from Marvel’s Comic-Con panel earlier this month, where the studio laid out the next few years of the MCU. But regardless of Marvel’s involvement, both Holland and director Jon Watts are reportedly committed to make a future film for Sony — it’ll just be without Feige.
Sources tell EW that negotiations are still ongoing, so the character’s fate isn’t sealed yet. But unless the two studios come to a deal, our friendly neighborhood Spider-Man’s neighborhood just got a lot smaller.
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