Due to an ongoing dispute over character rights with Sony Pictures, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige will no longer be producing "Spider-Man" films, thus forcing the "Spider-Man" franchise to be completely cut from the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). This means that Tom Holland's character will no longer be associated with other characters outside of its own franchise.
In other words, it feels like we're losing Spider-Man to Thanos' snap all over again.
The reason behind this decision stems from the last two films produced by Feige breaking film records across the board. As we all know, "Avengers: Endgame" recently became the highest-grossing film of all time and "Spider-Man: Far From Home" is currently the highest-grossing film for Sony Pictures. As you can imagine, money is a big factor here.
Sony Pictures has owned the "Spider-Man" franchise since Tobey Maguire's days playing the character, and Disney reportedly asked for future "Spider-Man" films to be a 50/50 co-financing arrangement. Sony turned the offer down, and it's not difficult to understand why, because after all, why would Sony want to split the profit and share its biggest franchise and character?
Sony reportedly also proposed to keep its current arrangement going with Marvel receiving 5% of first dollar-gross, but Disney declined the offer. When Sony attempted to make further compromises, Disney once again declined with insistence on the 50/50 split.
What this does not mean is that our favorite web-slinger is gone forever.
Multiple sources confirm that there are at least two more "Spider-Man" films in the works that are meant to have Tom Holland in the leading role. What this does mean is that Feige will just no longer be a part of those productions, Spider-Man won't be making any cameos in other Marvel productions, and we won't see cameos from other Marvel characters in the "Spider-Man" films.
Although many have met this deal with hate by claiming that the MCU will become disrupted and that the new "Spider-Man" films will fall flat without the aid of Marvel, others have supported Sony in their decision to not give into Disney's demands. Disney currently owns the "Star Wars" and "Marvel" franchise in addition to ESPN, Inc. and the ABC Television Group, and it seems like the one thing it doesn't fully own is "Spider-Man". Those in support of Sony claim it was about time that someone humbled Disney by not giving them everything they want, especially when it comes to their most famous character.
However, it seems like the MCU might be getting a little messy with the disappearance of Holland's character. "Homecoming" and "Far From Home" are deeply intertwined with the MCU, and taking that away might make it difficult to tie up loose ends and can destroy a decade of setting up integral plot points and fulfilling character development. It's worrying to think of a "Spider-Man" film without Happy, without Nick Fury, and without the slightest mention of Tony Stark, which is someone who Peter became increasingly close to during the films, had a father-son bond with, and was mourning following his death.
More importantly, this deal also means that we most likely won't be getting an answer to the cliffhanger we saw at the end of "Far From Home."
Did Iron Man really die for this? Sony taking full control of this character seems like it can only do more harm than good, and I think we can all say we "don't feel so good" about this decision.
