The unique arrangement between Sony and Marvel Studios over the use of Spider-Man was hugely unexpected when it was first announced, and always felt a little tenuous. After all, the web-slinger is arguably the most marketable commodity Sony have at their disposal, and they were set to lose out on a lot of revenue by striking a deal with Kevin Feige and his team.
However, the studio had also botched two Spidey franchises of their own having requested that Sam Raimi shoehorn Venom into his third movie, a decision the filmmaker was never too keen on, and it showed in the finished product. Seven years later, meanwhile, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 was stuffed to breaking point as Sony laid the foundations for a series of spinoffs that ultimately never came to fruition.
Presumably buoyed by Venom making over $850 million at the box office, the hierarchy decided that they didn’t need the MCU anymore and snatched Spider-Man from Marvel’s grasp, leaving fans around the world in a state of shock. Sony even publicly stated that they were more than capable of making great movies without Feige’s input, despite clear evidence to the contrary.
Luckily, a new deal was struck and Tom Holland’s Peter Parker will remain part of the world’s biggest franchise for the foreseeable future, and he’s also widely expected to show up in Sony’s own Marvel universe from time to time. Not only that, but tipster Mikey Sutton now claims that a new deal is close to being reached, and will reportedly lead to another Spider-Man trilogy focusing on the title hero’s college years.
Specifics of the latest contract have never been revealed, but Far From Home became the highest-grossing title in Sony’s history and the upcoming Spider-Man 3 is poised to perform even better. As such, you can fully understand why both parties would be keen to stay partnered up.
