After a nasty custody battle, in most recent engagements, it’s reported that Sony and Disney have decided to part ways. This not only means that Spider-Man is out of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and that Sony is carrying its tradition of ruining every third installment of the franchise, but we also might have to see Uncle Ben die again.
In its original deal, Marvel received all profit from merchandise sold and (roughly) a 5% cut of the profits from the box office totals on the film’s first day of release. However, Disney decided against the deal that’s been working for some time now and proposed a 50/50 co-financing deal, meaning each company would put up half of the production costs and then split the profits. Sony declined, which prompted this entire conundrum between the two companies. One of the biggest losses here is the removal of Kevin Feige’s (as of now) presence over the upcoming Spider-Man movies in this dispute. Let’s face it, Feige is a genius of a producer. In his run, he’s supervised 23 different Marvel Studios movies, all of which opening at number one in the box office. In the most recent installment, Spider-Man: Far From Home, the movie grossed over $1.1 billion dollars, making it not only the highest grossing Spider-Man movie, but the highest grossing movie from Sony period (it narrowly out-grossed Skyfall).
Tom Holland and Zendaya in Spider-Man: Far From Home. Image via Sony.
In Sony’s attempt to do some damage control, they’ve come out with statements claiming that Feige’s newfound workload over the X-Men franchise is why he’s no longer over the Spider-Man franchise. This is not the case as its been maintained (through reports) that this is all money based. As for fans of the beloved Spider-Man, played by sweetheart Tom Holland (the best Spider-Man we’ve had), it’s safe to say that emotions were running high:
#SaveSpidermanFromSony Spider-Man belongs in the MCU. Not only would this rip away Peter from us, but Happy, Aunt May, Michelle, everyone possibly.
And we would be ripping away Toms dream and that’s the worst of all.
Fuck Sony. pic.twitter.com/Sxgbwo7N9d
— ☁️Isa☁️ ᵇˡᵐ (@HeyItsNotIsa) August 21, 2019
Imagine how Tom Holland feels. He was cast to be the Spider-Man in the MCU, specifically so his character could be in the Avengers. Now he’s being told he can’t play in that playground anymore and has to be stuck with Sony’s leftovers. #SaveSpidey
— ManaByte (@ManaByte) August 21, 2019
As expected however, Twitter was quick to joke about the situation:
https://twitter.com/geminiscry/status/1163932975471431681?s=21
https://twitter.com/israr209/status/1163912905349373952?s=21
In all seriousness though, as a fan of Holland as Spider-Man, I was saddened by the sudden news. In hearing about his dreams to play Spider-Man and even Stan Lee saying Holland was the Spider-Man he envisioned, I’m extremely disappointed. Given the development of Spider-Man’s relationship with Iron Man (played by Robert Downey Jr.) and his road to becoming an Avenger, it’s a punch in the gut to Marvel fans. This also takes away from his fellow co-stars Zendaya (who plays as MJ) and Jacob Batalon (who plays as Peter Parker’s best friend, Ned Leeds). As much as I want Holland to quit, so his character won’t be tarnished and we won’t have to see him flop at the box office, he’s apparently in the contract for two more Spider-Man movies, so there’s that.
We should all keep in mind for this situation that it is not only Sony’s fault. This rift has been majorly caused by Disney as well. I don’t know where Sony’s creative direction is going right now, but I’m not too confident. While Sony has given us quality films such as Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, their terrible marketing led this to become the lowest-grossing Spider-Man film. It’s also important to note that it would be impossible for Sony to carry on the franchise as they can not reference the MCU in any way. This would, in turn, lead to yet another reboot and rebranding of Spider-Man. My hopes aren’t completely lost. Sony’s stock had fallen tremendously following the release of reports about the break-up and I’m giving it a week tops before they begin to fold in this exchange (or so I hope).
Featured Image via Sony
