A financial dispute threatens Spidey’s future in the MCU…
Tuesday is turning out to be a huge day for blockbuster movie news.
First, you had the long-awaited reveal of the title of the next James Bond film, which is officially called No Time To Die.
Several hours later came the announcement that The Matrix 4 is officially in production, with key members of the original trilogy back on board.
So far, so good?
In less wholesome news, it looks like Spider-Man and the Marvel Cinematic Universe are about to break up.
Tom Holland’s version of Spider-Man first entered the MCU proper in Captain America: Civil War after a deal was struck between Sony Pictures and Marvel Studios, allowing Marvel the chance to express their vision for the character while Sony enjoys the vast majority of the profits.
This iteration of the web-slinger has proved popular with fans and critics, turning up in Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame as well as two standalone adventures of his own in the form of Homecoming and Far From Home.
Clip via TopMovieClips
It’s been a success, albeit one coated in familiar MCU gloss at every turn, and the mid-credits sting of Far From Home set up a very interesting future as far as Spidey goes.
One that we may not get to see, after all.
Deadline reports that Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige will no longer produce any Spider-Man films due to an inability by Disney and Sony Pictures to come to new terms that would give Disney a 50/50 co-financing stake as projects move forward.
The dispute is said to have raged on for months, with Sony turning down the co-financing offer. As a result, Feige has walked away, MCU in tow, potentially leaving Spider-Man out in the cold with two more planned films – with cast and crew signed up – possibly shelved entirely.
“Sony just simply didn’t want to share its biggest franchise,” notes the Deadline report.
Sources say that Sony proposed retaining the original arrangement where Marvel receives in the range of 5% of first dollar gross, only for Disney to refuse.
Spider-Man: Far From Home recently surpassed Skyfall as Sony Pictures’ highest-grossing film of all time, taking in over $1.1 billion worldwide.
Neither studio has commented publicly on reports as of yet.
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