Sony have been facing accusations that they don’t know how to handle their roster of comic book properties for well over a decade, so a lot of people weren’t surprised when the studio took their ball and went home after the success of Spider-Man: Far From Home, forcibly withdrawing the web-slinger from the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Naturally, fans were up in arms at the prospect of Tom Holland’s Peter Parker no longer being able to interact with the franchise’s established roster of superheroes, but Sony seemed confident that they were more than capable of crafting Spider-Man blockbusters without Kevin Feige’s help, even though history had proven otherwise twice before.
Luckily, all fences were mended and the relationship between the rival studios looks to be stronger than ever, with Sony striking a streaming deal with Disney that will eventually see Holland’s Spidey movies and other Sony Pictures Universe of Marvel Characters adventures end up on the Mouse House’s streaming service. In a new interview, though, Feige admitted that those few months of uncertainty put him through the emotional wringer.
“There was a time when it looked like Marvel Studios would not be involved in Spider-Man movies going forward for Sony. It was only a few months, but it was an emotional few months for, I think, all of us on all sides. And a very public few months for whatever reason. I always want to look at the bright side, and the bright side is we got to make two great Spider-Man movies with Amy Pascal and Jon Watts and Tom Rothman and Tom Holland, and I was very proud of that and very happy with that, and of course, wanted it to continue. I always want to be happy with what we have, instead of upset with what we don’t.
Luckily, Tom Rothman, and Bob Iger, and, and Alan Bergman, and Tom Holland himself all realized, ‘Wouldn’t it just be more fun if we just kept doing it? Let’s not get business or politics in the way’. Because the deal always started with Amy Pascal and I having nothing to do with numbers, or contracts, or politics. It had to do with story, and a love of Spider-Man and Peter Parker and the Marvel universe. It thankfully has continued like that, and that’s where we find ourselves now.”
Holland’s contract to star as Spider-Man expires after the release of No Way Home, but the actor is determined to stick around for as long as possible, while Sony have Venom: Let There Be Carnage, Morbius and Kraven the Hunter on the way between now and January 2023, and there’s been near-constant speculation that it’s all going to result in the MCU’s canonical wall-crawler swinging by the SPUMC to do battle with the Sinister Six. Whether that happens or not, we can at least rest easy that we’ll be getting many more Spidey blockbusters slapped with the Marvel Studios branding.
