Last month, in a piece of internet-breaking news, we reported that Spider-Man would no longer be part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). This was due to the fact that Sony and Disney had reached an impasse on their latest contractual negotiations over the use of the Web-slinger in feature films. (Sony has owned the Spider-Man film rights since 1999. In 2015, Disney and Sony signed a new deal that would allow the web-slinger to be a part of the MCU. The deal recently expired.) As a result of the deadlock, Kevin Feige would no longer serve as the creative mind behind the Spider-Man solo movies and Spidey would no longer be a part of the MCU.
This wasn’t just internet speculation or as Han Solo would put it — mumbo jumbo. Even the likes of Tom Holland, Kevin Feige and Sony Chairman and CEO Tony Vinciquerra discussed the departure.
HOWEVER, in a huge plot twist, the studios released a press release earlier announcing that they’ve come to an agreement and Kevin Feige will oversee a third Spider-Man movie that’s set for a July 2021 release. And as a result of the new agreement, Spider-Man will also appear in future Marvel Cinematic Universe films. In the press release, Kevin Feige said:
“I am thrilled that Spidey’s journey in the MCU will continue, and I and all of us at Marvel Studios are very excited that we get to keep working on it. Spider-Man is a powerful icon and hero whose story crosses all ages and audiences around the globe. He also happens to be the only hero with the superpower to cross cinematic universes, so as Sony continues to develop their own Spidey-verse you never know what surprises the future might hold.”
This is probably what’s best for all parties involved. While Sony isn’t incapable of delivering top quality Spider-Man films — their animated feature, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse bagged an Oscar earlier this year — recent track record also suggests that they haven’t been able to hit the home run as far as live-action Spidey films are concerned. Their past four live-action Spider-Man/Spider-Man universe films include Spider-Man 3, The Amazing Spider-Man 1 & 2 and Venom.
Marvel Studios, on the other hand, has given us the best version of Spider-Man/Peter Parker (as played by Tom Holland) ever put to screen. Not only that, if Spidey was no longer a part of the MCU, it would mean putting to bed many years worth of character writing and awesome storytelling.
