Ever since Tom Holland spread his (web) wings for Spider-Man: Homecoming, Peter Parker has gone on to forge a poignant friendship with Tony Stark – so much so, in fact, that it didn’t take long before Parker looked to Iron Man as something of a father figure.
Fast forward to 2019, though, and in the aftermath of Far From Home, Spidey’s future in the MCU has been thrust into jeopardy following a profit-sharing dispute between Sony and Disney. Essentially, the latter media giant wants a bigger slice of the pie – up to 50 percent of film grosses, according to some outlets – which is a significant bump up from the original 5 percent. The current deal also includes Spider-Man merchandising.
It is, without question, a confusing time for MCU fans, who are now beginning to turn to Robert Downey Jr. himself in a last-ditch attempt to ‘save’ Spider-Man – save him from what, exactly, we don’t know. A future of Sony movies, perhaps?
Can you get Spider-Man back to the MCU?
— Northern VA’s AllStarComicCon (@AllStarComicCon) August 22, 2019
Watch RDJ buy Sony just so Tom can continue playing Spider-Man pic.twitter.com/Tr0odhXcvY
— I love One Direction 3000 ◟̽◞̽ (@mypoison1D) August 22, 2019
USE YOU TONY STARK POWER FOR BRING BACK SPIDER-MAN IN MCU
— Arno Snow (@Arno_Snow) August 22, 2019
Only you have a big enough influence to help Spidey stay where he belongs. I’m asking you, @RobertDowneyJr please take into account the lasting legacy Iron Man has on the entire MCU and how that legacy desperately needs Spider-Man and Tom Holland. Please help #boycottSony
— Strawa5 (@Strawa51) August 22, 2019
Robert Downey Jr. is going to pull out his own money and pay Sony to give Spider-man back.
— pat bonk streams on mixer (@Alexbald34) August 21, 2019
I’m waiting for the headline: “Robert Downey Jr. Walks into Sony Offices for Meeting, Walks Out with Spider-Man Rights”
— Cristian A. Ortiz (@cristian_712) August 21, 2019
The only person to save Sony and Spider-Man is Robert Tony Downey Stark Jr.
— ??HeyMan_BigBooty?? (@Heyman_Bigbooty) August 22, 2019
Please save spider man
— Jacob Ober ? (@coachober1) August 22, 2019
RDJ is currently working on some sort of Twitter collaboration with NASA, though it wasn’t long before his mentions were filled with tweets mentioning the ongoing Spider-Man showdown. As a matter of fact, as you’ll see above, a number of desperate fans are pleading with RDJ to do something – you know, despite the fact that he’s officially finished with the Marvel Cinematic Universe after Avengers: Endgame.
But we live in hope. Having helped propel the MCU into the stratosphere, and banked countless millions in the process, Downey Jr. certainly had a lot of pulling power, though whether he’s willing to come between Marvel’s Kevin Feige and Tom Rothman of Sony is another question entirely. More on this tangled web of Spider-Man rights as the story unfolds.
