Earlier this week, the industry was rocked by the acrimonious end of Marvel/Disney’s Spider-Man pact with Sony. While Disney is said to have asked for as much as 50% of future Spider-Man movie profits, a new report may explain why Sony is willing to leave the MCU behind.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Sony doesn’t believe that it needs Marvel or Kevin Feige anymore. A Sony source reportedly told THR that “[Sony Pictures Chairman] Tom [Rothman] is thinking ‘Okay, we’ve learned everything we need to from Kevin’s playbook. We did Venom on our own and we did Spider-Verse.’”
If Venom hadn’t proven to be so successful at the box office, Sony probably wouldn’t have felt so emboldened. The animated film, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, also went a long way towards Sony’s rehabilitation of its Spider-Man image.
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But few would argue that the deal to share Spider-Man paid dividends for both Marvel and Sony. Spidey’s entrance into the MCU allowed the company’s biggest hero to be a part of three blockbuster films. Sony’s two solo Spidey films, Spider-Man: Homecoming and Spider-Man: Far From Home, went on to become mega hits of their own. Last weekend, Far From Home became Sony’s highest grossing film of all time.
There may still be a slim possibility that Sony and Marvel/Disney can return to the bargaining table. A few Marvel actors are already advocating for that. But in the interim, Spidey’s future is firmly back in Sony’s control.
Do you think that Sony doesn’t need the MCU anymore? Let us know what you think in the comment section below!
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