Story by Soumya Monga and Graphic by Angela Ling
Tom Holland is back again starring as Peter Parker in the third installment of Marvel’s Spider-Man franchise on July 16, 2021. This movie will be released under Sony, maybe. Actually, wait, it’ll be released under… Even Spider-Man’s Spidey senses didn’t catch this turn of events.
It has now been made official: Spider-Man is back in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and rejoining Disney. Spider-Man, Sony’s character since 1977, is coming back home after a recent update. Disney and Sony disputed to keep Spider-Man in the MCU since August. Since then, Spider-Man’s been Far From Home and to the brink of no return.
After much hope had been lost, the rumors and negotiations sparked and the character’s ties were restored to the MCU and Disney, its home. Thus, Spider-Man is “home sweet home.”
Though Sony was looking to reclaim its character from the past, it’s a better idea to keep Spider-Man in Marvel. This works toward the interest of fans, financial benefits and potential spinoffs with the “spider-verse”— hinted by Kevin Feige, director of Spider-Man: Homecoming and Spider-Man: Far From Home.
Marvel and Sony’s previous deal entailed Sony paying for the movies and taking the box office results. In return, Marvel got usage rights over Spider-Man and 5% of the box office results from Sony. As the franchise moved forward, the sequel surpassed the classic 2012 James Bond Skyfall in Sony’s studio-best box office results category, earning over $1.11 billion worldwide.
With this being the case, Marvel asked to be co-producers and proposed taking 50% of the box office results in addition to 50% of the movie cost. According to Forbes, Sony refused and no counter proposal was put forth.
Many fans questioned this decision and strongly opposed it after the announcement was made that Spider-Man had severed ties with the MCU. Fortunately, Sony reviewed and realized the merits of the deal. Now, Sony and Marvel are co-producers of this franchise and Sony will have more opportunities to pursue other franchises including the MCU’s Spider-Man.
Not only is it a financial win, but it’s great for the Marvel fanbase. Looking to the $1.11 billion grossing of Spider-Man: Far From Home, there’s no doubt Spider-Man is popular among the Marvel community.
Fans celebrated the return of the superhero with the Instagram hashtag #SpiderMan. Other Instagram hashtags were made in response to the departure of Spider-Man such as #SaveSpidey, #SpiderManBelongsInTheMCU, #SaveSpiderManFromSony and more. In the wake of Sony’s initial announcement about the franchise, many fans made hilarious memes and parodies about the tragic event like “Spider-Man: Homeless.”
When confronted with enraged fans and backlash from the Marvel fanbase, Sony acted correctly in bringing the beloved character back and accepting the new deal put forth by Marvel. One Avengers cast member, Jeremy Renner who plays Hawkeye, tweeted his opinion that Spider-Man should return. Zendaya and Tom Holland — who play MJ and Peter Parker respectively — went to social media to share their excitement with the viewers about their return.
The director of the films, Fiege, expressed his eagerness to work on the franchise again and his excitement for fans after the update was made. Fans, Spider-Man staff and cast members are certainly thrilled about the fact that there will be a familiar face, again, on local theater screens soon enough.
Spider-Man is vital to the MCU since he is a continuity regarding post-Endgame movies. As Tony Stark, Natasha Romanoff and Steve Rogers — played by Robert Downey Jr., Scarlett Johanssen and Chris Evans, respectively — make their heartbreaking departures from Avengers after Endgame, Peter Parker and previous characters are providing assurance and hope for the future of the Marvel world. As said in Far From Home, Peter Parker is the “next Tony Stark,” and we trust him.
Adding already to the win-win situation for both companies, Sony is now free to do a potential “spider-verse” spinoff. The 2018 Spider-Man Into The Spider-Verse movie that was produced by Sony received overall excellent reviews and 8.4/10 stars according to IMDb.
There exciting speculations that “spider-verse” characters may be included in cross-overs after the new deal made with Marvel. With the Multiverse notion coming into play with the “spider-verse” film, there could potentially be continuing stories from Peter Parker’s world over to Miles Morales in the “spider-verse.”
Even if crossovers are not in store, Sony will benefit greatly since they will now have two solo Spider-Man franchises. Sony can invest more time and money toward this series now that Marvel is coproducing the Tom Holland Spider-Man movies.
Not only is this decision in interest to the fans, but it is also in the best interest of both companies, financially and conceptually. Fans are definitely ecstatic and grateful to see the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man returning. With this situation, both companies can focus on the next installment in the franchise, so fans can finally know what’ll happen to Spidey’s secret identity.
