A wave of panic collectively swept over Spider-Man fans around the world last summer when the news came out of nowhere that Sony were essentially taking their ball and going home, withdrawing the web-slinging superhero from the Marvel Cinematic Universe in the process. Despite sending the internet into total meltdown, the two sides were eventually able to negotiate a new character-sharing agreement, with more than a little help from Tom Holland himself.
While the specifics of the latest contract haven’t been made public, it appears that Spider-Man can remain part of the MCU and headline his own solo franchise, but Sony presumably have the option to use everyone’s favorite friendly neighborhood superhero for either cameos or supporting roles as part of their own catchy-sounding Sony Pictures Universe of Marvel Characters, which looks set to continue its recent and rapid expansion over the next several years.
We’ve heard rumors in the past that Disney and Marvel were looking to buy the rights to Spider-Man outright, but based on the fact that Far From Home is the highest-grossing movie in Sony’s history, it seems unlikely they’d hand him over so easily. That being said, Roger Wardell – who has a solid track record of insider information when it comes to the MCU – claims that a new deal is in the works that could make fans very happy.
https://twitter.com/WardellRoger/status/1266726575736860672
Admittedly, there isn’t much to go on here, but Sony admitting that their comic book franchise faces little chance of defeating the MCU in head-to-head competition could indicate that more cross-pollination might be on the horizon. Marvel have the rights to characters that Sony would love to use, and vice versa, so maybe one day we’ll see Venom or Spider-Man 2099 appear under the Disney banner. Or perhaps Kevin Feige will let Sony borrow a couple of Avengers to give one of their SPUoMC movies a box office boost.
