Spider-Man is Back in the MCU and Why the Split Never Made Sense
By Pete Hernandez III
Sony and Disney reached an agreement for Marvel Studios to produce the third Spider-Man film. The web-slinger is back in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and his departure never made any sense begin with.
“We won Mr. Stark. We Won! You did it, sir, you did it.”
Yes, we won indeed. Marvel fans and comic fans, in general, all scored a victory this past week, as Sony and Disney ultimately reached a deal to allow Marvel Studios to produce the third Spider-Man film of the Tom Holland trilogy.
The web-slinger’s departure from the Marvel Cinematic Universe only lasted a few weeks, as the deal welcomes him back home in the universe alongside his fellow Avengers.
The new contract details include a significant increase in profits for Marvel Studios and Disney, while it will also allow Tom Holland’s Spider-Man to appear in one additional MCU film. The deal also allows Spidey to appear in any of the upcoming Sony-produced films that will supposedly form the Spider-Man centric “universe.”
“The new deal was signed late on Thursday night. Negotiations involved top players from both studios, including Sony Pictures chief Tom Rothman, Feige and Walt Disney Studios co-chairs Alan Horn and Alan Bergman. In exchange for lending Feige’s producing prowess, Marvel and Disney will receive roughly 25% of the profits, according to insiders. Disney will retain its merchandising rights and will put up roughly a quarter of the financing. As part of the arrangement, Spider-Man will also appear in one future Marvel Studios film.”
The third Spider-Man film will be released on July 16, 2021, and Amy Pascal will also produce through Pictures.
As the saying goes, “money talks,” and it should come as no surprise that Sony and Disney eventually came to an agreement to keep their partnership going. Simply put, the split and resulting departure of Spider-Man from the MCU never made any sense to begin with.
Aside from the financial reasons, (before Kevin Feige and Marvel Studios stepped in to help produce, no Spider-Man film ever crossed $1 billion in gross profits, Spider-Man: Far From Home became the first) it simply did not make any sense story-wise either.
Had Sony gone with its plan to produce their future films solo, how would they have explained so many key plot points without the connection to the MCU?
- Spider-Man’s suit (originally designed by Tony Stark, his latest designed by Peter Parker, but with Stark Tech)
- Iron-Spider Suit (again, designed by Tony Stark)
- His encounter with Mysterio (revealed to be a former employee of Tony Stark)
- The building in which he swings/glides through at the conclusion of Far From Home, possibly to be used in the future as the HQ of Oscorp or as The Baxter Building (the building was originally Stark Tower)
- “The Snap” aka “The Blip” (good luck explaining how Peter Parker and company disappeared for five years, without referencing Thanos)
In essence, the original split and misunderstanding between Sony and Disney were based on fiscal reasons and politics, and understandably so. Having helped create the best adaptation of Spider-Man to date, Disney (by way of Marvel Studios) wanted a bigger piece of the pie.
Sony, who still owns the rights, was likely bothered by the notion that Marvel Studios/Disney was getting most of, if not all, the credit.
It made too much sense for this partnership to continue, but it made absolutely no sense for it to have ended, to begin with.
