Spidey fans all over the world are overjoyed following the announcement from both Sony and Marvel that Spider-man is swinging back into the MCU for one more movie.
The deal was signed on Thursday night with Sony chairman Tom Rothman, Disney co-chairman Alan Horn and “Far From Home” Director Kevin Feige all present for the signing. The deal confirms that Spider-man will be appearing in at least one more MCU film and that Marvel and Disney will receive 25% profit and will retain the rights to merchandise. The release date of MCU’s Spider-man 3 was also confirmed to be July 16, 2021.
While this is indeed wonderful news to Spidey-fanatics such as myself, I can’t say I’m too surprised by the renewed partnership between Sony and Disney considering the backlash surrounding Spidey’s MCU exit.
Following the controversial fallout between Sony and Disney in which Disney lost the rights to Spider-man in a dispute over money, fans of the web-slinger all over the world were furious and vocalized their frustrations clearly and passionately. This is because not only had Sony yet again ruined a Spider-man series, but it also threatened to leave one of the biggest cliff-hangers of all time unanswered just because Disney wanted 50% profits.
With the mounting fan and critical rage towards Sony, not to mention all the money that the last film raked in, it’s no surprise that Disney and Sony put their differences aside for one more movie.
Kevin Feige, director of the first two MCU Spider-man films and future Star Wars director expressed much joy about the “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.” Kevin Feige stated. “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.”
So from this tease by Feige, its seems as though Spider-man could potentially swing back and forth from the MCU to the Sony-verse (and possibly appear in Venom 2). This all depends on how well the current arrangement between the two studios pans out.
Whether Spidey sticks around in the MCU or not may be unclear, but for the moment, let’s all be thankful that Spidey’s studio parents finally made up. Despite this seeming like a short-term deal, the future for Spider-man seems brighter than ever. Here’s to hoping that Holland’s next (possibly final) outing in the MCU is Spectacular.
Samuel J. Claude
Managing Editor