The internet’s been in an all-out slugfest over Spider-Man‘s possible departure from the Marvel Cinematic Universe. But there may be hope yet.
Earlier this afternoon, Deadline unleashed a hellish storm over the digital waves, reporting that Sony and Disney had ended their business relationship together over a financial standoff. From what we understand, the House of Mouse had requested a 50/50 split in grosses for all future Spider-Man films – a 45% leap up from what it is now – and when Sony inevitably refused, they also booted Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige from producing the hero’s next two films in any capacity.
At least, that’s how the story’s been told.
According to several sources and industry insiders, negotiations over Peter Parker’s place in the MCU have not ended yet, and the previous reports may have been premature. With that said, don’t get too excited. The fact that we know anything about this at all is apparently not great.
Here’s how BuzzFeed News’ Senior Film Reporter Adam B. Vary put it:
https://twitter.com/adambvary/status/1163930765534486528
Vary’s hesitance to say this is all good news is understandable. After all, nothing is confirmed either way. But Erik Davis, the managing editor at Fandango, is a little bit more hopeful, especially for a Spider-Man/Fantastic Four crossover.
As an update, multiple sources are confirming that talk of Sony and Disney parting ways on Spider-Man is premature. Negotiations are ongoing and nothing is finalized. Still holding out hope for that Spider-Man/Fantastic Four movie! pic.twitter.com/iBEZdSk6sl
— Erik Davis (@ErikDavis) August 20, 2019
As this is a rapidly developing story, we’ll surely find out more about what’s going on in the coming days. Maybe even hours, as neither Disney nor Sony have officially responded yet.
But given that Spider-Man has taken on such a prominent role in the MCU – and also headed his first $1 billion movie – it’s unlikely that the companies would just throw all of that away, especially after the reaction it’s gotten today.
