Disney and Sony Agree To Make A Third Spider-Man Film Together
by Erik Amaya
All animosities in Hollywood can be overcome, it seems.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Disney and Sony have come to an accord concerning the third Spider-Man film. “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,” said Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige in a statement. “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.”
The announcement ends a month-long stalemate between the studios over Spider-Man’s future in the MCU and Feige’s participation in charting the character’s future.
Back in August — just ahead of the D23 Expo — word broke that negotiations between the studios had broke down. At issue: Disney wanted to co-finance the third MCU Spider-Man film; entitling them to a bigger slice of the profits. There was also some word Disney also wanted a cut of the emerging Spider-Verse as they are all based on IP the company owns. At the time, it was said this was Disney’s only offer and when Sony refused it, the Mouse walked away from the table.
The new deal will see to a third Spider-Man production and an appearance by the webslinger in another Marvel Studios production. Feige, who is also set to develop a Star Wars film, will have creative influence on the new film. Disney will also get 25% of the pie, which some sites are claiming was their original offer to Sony; although, reporting at the time indicating they were looking for a 50-50 split.
Oh, also, a release date has been fixed: July 16th, 2021.
This was, of course, the outcome we always expected. The partnership was far too lucrative for the rival studios to stay embittered for too long. Sony, meanwhile, has plenty of Spider-Verse projects to work on with the upcoming Morbius, the soon to shoot Venom 2, and films based on Silver Sable, Black Cat, and Madame Web in the works.
But, perhaps, public perception was key and whoever originally leaked word of the contract troubles should be commended. Not that we’re going to assume it was anyone named in these stories, but you never know. We’ll leave J. Jonah Jameson to figure it out.
