By CARL MCDONALD
Staff Writer
The Marvel Cinematic Universe has had a lot of success in the past year. However, it is the news that has received the most attention from fans. For example, this past summer saw the announcements of several Marvel shows that will be on the new Disney+ streaming service. Such shows include “Falcon and Winter Soldier,” “Hawkeye,” “WandaVision,” “She-Hulk,” “Moon Knight,” among more projects. However, at the D-23 event, we were also given film titles. Movies like “Black Panther 2,” “Black Widow,” “The Eternals,” “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness,” and more were announced. However, there was one film everyone was expecting to be mentioned at the event.
Last August, it was announced that Disney/Marvel and Sony ended their relationship. This partnership would end the companies rights to the character of Spider-Man. This meant that Sony took everything original with the web-slinger, such as Aunt May, Mary Jane, Betty Bryant, and more Spider-Man characters. This news came almost immediately after the release of “Spider-Man: Far From Home.” This film was important for two reasons: it was set up for a third film, and it was the final film in the third phase of the MCU. Before the removal of the hero in the universe, Disney was given some sort of ultimatum to keep the character.
Sony told Disney to have “FFH” make at least $1 billion in the box office or the character would no longer be a part of the universe. Disney was able to successfully have the movie make more than that. However, this did not stop those behind Sony from pulling the webhead from the MCU. So what went wrong?
Sony blamed Disney for Spider-Man no longer being involved. The main reason being that Disney had allegedly asked for more rights to the character. However, Sony is receiving the most backlash, mainly from the fans. Sony pulled the plug on the MCU having the webhead, but they have a history of ruining the hero in live-action. Although Spider-Man made a lot in the box office, it was deemed the worst film in the trilogy with Tobey Maguire. After a reboot in 2012, Andrew Garfield was then given that main role. However, his movies didn’t live up to the original, especially the sequel. Sony still plans a Spider-Man Universe, as the will be working on “Venom 2,” “Morubis,” and the Spider-Verse sequel. Current Spider-Man actor Tom Holland said he was OK with the decision and prepared to be a part of a new universe. Yet, the fans who only blame Sony are not interested. As for Disney, they were either seen as the victim or the problem too.
After the split, there were more allegations pointed at the studio for being greedy with the character. The late Stan Lee’s daughter even shared her frustrations with Disney. Joan Lee sided with Sony because she also saw Disney as power-hungry for the character. Joan also mentioned the passing of her father, and how Disney didn’t care.
“When my father died, no one from Marvel or Disney reached out to me,” she said. “From day one, they have commoditized my father’s work and never shown him or his legacy any respect or decency. In the end, no one could have treated my father worse than Marvel and Disney’s executives.”
It took a while, but multiple sources have confirmed that a third Spider-Man film is in the works. In addition to a new film starring the webhead, Sony and Disney/Marvel have resumed their partnership. After the alliance between the studios ended, it looked as if Spider-Man was going to remain with Sony. It was also expected that Disney wouldn’t be allowed to reference the character ever again. Both sides were able to negotiate a deal with Disney receiving 25% rights to the character. This contradicted the 50% had asked for. Now that the new deal is official, Tom Holland will be involved with to universes. With the other being the Spider-Verse by Sony. This fits well as the MCU is planning to introduce the multiverse. It was even teased in the most recent Spider-Man film. Speaking of Holland, he had a part in helping his character return to the MCU. The actor pleaded with the CEO and chairman of Sony and Disney multiple times, to which they complied. He expressed his joy on Instagram with a classic scene from “Wolf on Wall Street.” This news has brought excitement to many fans and stars. The film is set to be released on July 16, 2021.
