Disney and Sony part ways over Spider-Man: What to Expect Next
Following the news that Spider-Man: Far From Home has become Sony Pictures’ highest-grossing release of all time, the studio is set to part ways with Marvel Studios, the film’s co-producer.
Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige won’t produce any further Spider-Man films because of an inability by Disney and Sony Pictures to reach new terms that would have given the former a co-financing stake going forward.
In a rare public rebuke to Disney, Sony announced Tuesday night that it was “disappointed” over the decision. With Feige not producing future Spider-Man films, the impasse effectively removes Tom Holland’s Spider-Man from the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Disney owns the rights to the character, but Sony has film rights thanks to deals set up before the Mouse bought Marvel in 2009. The studio still controls the lucrative merchandising rights for Spidey.
What can fans expect?
SPIDER-MAN COMICS WILL SLOW OR END IN SOME WAY
With the X-Men and Fantastic Four firmly in Fox’s grasp, Marvel decided to stop making merchandise featuring the characters, and in the comic books, they stop some issues for awhile, killing off characters, messy up storylines to alienate the Fox products from new material.
While Spider-Man is a much bigger name, Disney and Marvel Comics will certainly scale things back and will see less time in the spotlight.
MORE SPIDER-MAN FILMS/KRAVEN/VENOM
A Spider-Man/Venom crossover is inevitable, likely to be setup in a credit scene for Venom 2. Moreover, a Kraven role in the new Spider-Man film seems likely, if not certain. Will all of that said, the absence of the Avengers and MCU characters will seem to put Tom Holland’s Peter Parker on more of an island that he was already set for after the climax of Far From Home.
SONY IS BANKING ON THE SPIDER-VERSE
Will one big success make a franchise?
The Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse film was truly amazing, a great one to expand the massive Spider-Man library, but one film doesn’t a franchise make.
Sony is likely putting the cart before the horse with regards to new films, a spin-off or two and the believed appeal of characters like Miles Morales and Spider-Gwen.
DISNEY IS CALLING A BLUFF FOR SONY: PAY BIG OR LOSE IT ALL
Disney has gone from receiving 5% of first dollar gross to wanting 50%, and that’s a big just an insane request for Sony Pictures, a company only a few years removed from a North Korean hack which nearly bankrupted the company.
Disney knows all of that and has the long game to play and playing aggressive is what they have done. They have no loyalty to Tom Holland or fans, but to shareholders…so Disney went big.
Really big.
THIS COULD BE ABOUT POWER AND GET WORKED OUT
Kevin Feige and Marvel is also banking on their next phase of films, a move to satisfy the “woke squad” with female solo films (Black Widow, Captain Marvel 2), gay characters (Eternals) and female leads (Thor 4) – will that work?
Right now Sony wants to go solo (or so they want us to believe) while Marvel and Disney no longer have a reason to help them. Sony said, “we are grateful for his help and guidance and appreciate the path he has helped put us on.”
Marvel has the Fox properties to toy with and while the risk of losing Tom Holland is certain, Marvel/Disney is banking on a Sony fold/collapse/box office flop to get them back at the bargaining table.
MY PREDICTIONS
Venom 2 will underperform and be another CGI-fest with little fan appeal and superhero fatigue will be setting in hardcore. Moreover, Morbius will be a dark, vampire themed mess that seems very limited within the Spiderverse/Sony’s Spidey franchise, so…
Box office disappoints may come sooner than later.
Sony is their own worst enemy.
The studio has horrible judgment over the law haul: allowing Marc Webb to obsess with romance rather than action for TWO Spider-man films; planned spin-offs for Black Cat and Silver Sable, a total misogynist money grab; ruin MOST of their films during the publicity runs; and frankly, has no deep track record of doing this correctly.
My prediction: this will end with a deal. Either fast, in a month or two, or in a couple of years, ahead of the Spider-Man 3 production, after box office debt.
Hang in there Spidey fans, Hollywood drama will certainly never end.