A few days ago, we’d have said that Marvel would have to move heaven and earth to convince Sony to let Spider-Man play in its cinematic sandbox, so now that such a deal has finally come to fruition, it only follows that there are some fascinating details to parse out, both about the financial and logistical aspects of the webslinger’s future.
A new report delineates the specifics of Marvel and Sony’s arrangement, which involves far less money changing hands that one might have suspected. Marvel did not have to pay to snag Spider-Man for Captain America: Civil War and (almost certainly) Avengers: Infinity War – Parts 1 & 2. However, the studio is also not expected to receive any of the box office from future Spider-Man movies, and similarly, Sony will not get a cut of the profits from any Marvel titles featuring the wall-crawler. Both studios signed the deal confident in seeing a financial boost from Spider-Man now being associated with the Marvel Cinematic Universe (and at least for Marvel, merchandise sales will be lucrative).
Marvel linchpin Kevin Feige is not being paid to help Sony reboot the Spider-Man franchise yet again, and, more surprisingly, he is also not being brought into the fold on the studio’s spinoffs. According to Variety, Sinister Six, Venom and Glass Ceiling (a tentatively titled spinoff led entirely by female characters) are all still coming down the pipeline, though The Amazing Spider-Man 3 (which would have starred Andrew Garfield and returned Marc Webb to the director’s chair) has been canceled and replaced by the new Marvel-associated entry.
That’s somewhat surprising news, given that Sony will now have to tread carefully to keep its partnership with Marvel beneficial for both studios. Reputation is key to Marvel, which has yet to delivered a commercially lackluster or critically derided title, and if Sony might muddy the waters with some frankly desperate-sounding spinoffs, one can’t imagine that will go over too well with Feige and other Marvel players.
However, Sony will likely wait until Marvel gives it a leg-up for the Spider-Man title before taking a chance on a spinoff, so the studios have some time to duke it out over the creative future of the franchise. With rumors that Disney will eventually buy Sony outright, the next few weeks could see everything change in this brand-new future for the webslinger.
