Back in 2015, True Believers witnessed something that they never thought would happen. Early that year, Marvel Studios and Sony Pictures announced an unprecedented agreement that would see Spider-Man join the Marvel Cinematic Universe with the likes of Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, and the rest of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes. Shortly after that, Tom Holland made his debut as the web-slinging alter ego of Peter Parker in ‘Captain America: Civil War’ before heading off to star in ‘Spider-Man: Homecoming’ and ‘Avengers: Infinity War’. With Spidey lining up a number of appearances in the MCU, it would seem that the wall-crawler is right where he belongs. However, according to some new reports, it doesn’t look like it will last forever.
While speaking to Cosmic Book News at CinemaCon earlier this week, former Sony head and ‘Homecoming’ producer Amy Pascal revealed that Spider-Man would only stick around in the MCU for one more film following his first (or technically his third first) big solo outing. She shared this news while discussing the deal that brought three Hollywood heavy hitters together for one spectacular project:
“One of the things that I think is so amazing about this experience is that you don’t have studios deciding to work together to make a film very often. In fact it may never happen again, after we do the sequel. Because Sony, and Disney, and Marvel all decided that the right thing to do was to allow Peter Parker and Spider-Man to be in the MCU and to work with the Marvel guys and have them produce this film. And I think that was a very rare thing for three companies to do, and a very brilliant thing for them to decide to do because there are only so many stories that you can tell again and again and again about Spidey, and this is something that we would have never been able to do in any other way. So it was a very selfless thing that very smart on the part of all the companies.”
While that is most certainly disappointing for Spider-fans everywhere, it’s not time to throw in the towel just yet. Forbes is reporting that the clip featuring that quote was not complete. Apparently, Pascal’s remarks would go on to say that the initial deal was “extended to include additional films, that all sides expect these movies to be very lucrative, that the deal was remarkable and unique in cinema, and that it remains to be seen whether any further deals will be struck for additional crossover between the studios”. The report also mentions that Holland himself stated in an interview last year that he was signed on for three Spider-Man solo films and three additional appearances elsewhere.
Considering the projects that we already know about or have passed, that means that the young actor has two more Spidey movies plus one other appearance left in his deal. And though that final non-solo movie slot may be already be filled by the sequel to ‘Infinity War’, that still means that we should be seeing a fair amount of Holland’s fan favorite hero down the line.
Regardless of how many movies Holland has signed on for or how much fans love seeing a live-action Spider-Man in the MCU, all three studios (but most importantly Sony) have to realize that it’s in everyone’s best interest to keep the character and those related to him connected to this massively successful shared universe. Marvel gets to put the toys that they lent out back in their toy box, Sony finally redeems themselves for messing up the franchise after ‘Spider-Man 2’, and all three studios reap the monetary benefits of seeing Spidey onscreen with Tony Stark or whoever else he teams up with in the future. Despite the fact that ‘Homecoming’ hasn’t premiered yet, this deal is already a win for everyone involved. Let’s just hope that it continues to be a win so that things can stay just as they should be. Hell, if it all keeps working out, then maybe Fox will even come to their senses and turn to the House of Ideas when it’s time to reboot ‘Fantastic Four’ again.
How fragile do you think this agreement between Sony, Marvel, and Disney regarding Spider-Man really is? Do you really see Sony taking their ball (in this case, one likely made of webbing) and going home once the commitments are fulfilled? Or do you think everyone will continue to work together to keep Peter Parker in the Marvel Cinematic Universe? Share your thoughts and theories in the comments below.
‘Spider-Man: Homecoming’ starring Tom Holland, Zendaya, Tony Revolori, Jacob Batalon, Laura Harrier, Michael Keaton, Marisa Tomei, Martin Starr, Logan Marshall-Green, Donald Glover, Hannibal Buress, Kenneth Choi, Angourie Rice, Tyron Woodley, and Robert Downey Jr. hits theaters on July 7, 2017.
Despite being a “professional writer”, Ben likes run-on sentences far too much. For more of his attempts at being funny and the occasional insightful thought, follow him on Twitter and Instagram.
