UPDATE #2: Despite THR‘s previous confirmation, both Variety and BuzzFeed News are reporting that the Marvel-Sony deal regarding Spider-Man is simply at an “impasse” and that both parties may still reach an agreement on the matter.
UPDATE #1: The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed a report that Sony and Marvel Studios’ preexisting Spider-Man licensing deal fell apart, which will almost certainly take Tom Holland’s Peter Parker out of the MCU. See our original post below.
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Between trying to figure out how to insert Deadpool into the Marvel Cinematic Universe and overcoming Dark Phoenix‘s paltry box office performance, Kevin Feige’s Marvel Studios has its hands full. After all, the independent film studio turned Disney affiliate turned X-Men and Fantastic Four license owner doesn’t really have too much free time these days. According to a new report from Deadline, however, Feige’s schedule has probably been even more hectic than previously imagined.
That’s because, per Deadline’s sources, the carefully orchestrated deal between Marvel Studios and Sony Pictures that allowed for the creation and use of Tom Holland’s Spider-Man franchise within the confines of the MCU is now no more. “A dispute that has taken place over the past few months at the top of Disney and Sony has essentially nixed Feige, and the future involvement of Marvel from the Spider-Man universe,” reads the report:
Sources said there are two more Spider-Man films in the works that are meant to have director Jon Watts and Tom Holland front and center. Unless something dramatic happens, Feige won’t be the lead creative producer of those pictures.
So, what’s the problem? It’s money, obviously, and judging by how phenomenally well Spider-Man: Far From Home has done at the global box office, the precise problem is just how much more there is to be gained from the character. The original deal had a majority of Far From Home and Homecoming‘s profits going straight to Sony, while Marvel Studios took only five percent off the first dollar gross. According to the report, though, negotiations fell through when Disney asked to change that figure to a 50/50 split.
Of course, this doesn’t mean that Holland’s Spider-Man is no more. As previously stated, both he and director Jon Watts are still committed to two more films in Sony’s latest iteration of the franchise. When it comes to seeing the always-spritely Peter Parker pop up in the next big MCU adventure, however… it seems there’s no guarantee.
https://twitter.com/TVMcGee/status/1163913548587835392
(Via Deadline)