I wanted to write on this topic a couple weeks ago, but
didn’t find the time for it. Consequently, while this may be a little late to
the party, I am still of the opinion that it is important to keep this
discussion going until we have either received confirmation from Sony that they
are releasing Spider-Man 3 outside the MCU (meaning that it has actually
been released without a Disney/Sony deal in place) or received confirmation
from both studios that a new deal has been reached. It seems like every week something
else is floated as a rumor; most recently, the rumor that Apple wants to buy Sony
Pictures (which would cause the Spider-Man rights to revert back to Marvel).
I am not an insider. I don’t have any sources feeding me
information. I’ve just been watching and reading the same news as everyone
else, including tons of “insider leaks” and rampant speculation. So I am not
going to talk about any deals that “may be on the table.” Instead, I want to
talk about why I think Spider-Man (specifically the Tom Holland version of the
character) needs to stay in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. First, however, I
think it’s important to lay out the facts as they seem to stand.
Context
When Disney Studios and Sony Pictures came to the sharing
agreement that saw Spider-Man debut in Marvel’s Captain America: Civil War,
it appears that the deal only covered 5 movie appearances. Marvel Studios would
be able to use Spider-Man in 3 of their own movies, and Sony would release 2
solo movies set within the MCU. Disney would receive 100% of the profits on its
own movies. Sony would pay production costs for its movies, Marvel Studios’
Kevin Feige would produce and oversee them, and the studios would split the
profits (95% to Sony, 5% to Disney).
This agreement proved to be a roaring success, as the 5
movies in which Spider-Man appears earned a total of over $8 billion, with Spider-Man:
Homecoming as the only one in the group not to cross the $1-billion
mark.
This is where the studios’ attitudes toward the deal start
to diverge. Sony Pictures released Venom last year with an excellent box
office of over $856 million (the critical reception was mixed,
but…). Sony looks at this and sees that it has 2 potential billion-dollar
franchises in Spider-Man and Venom. And mathematically, if 1+1=2,
then $1-billion-Spider-Man + $1-billion-Venom = $2-billion-Spider-Man-vs.-Venom.
And for a studio that has been in financial trouble for a while, I think we can
all agree that in their position, that sounds pretty enticing. Unfortunately,
that would be impossible under the current sharing arrangement with Disney, in
which Spider-Man is in the MCU, while Venom is not.
Disney Studios, on the other hand, had 3 MCU movies come
out this year in Captain Marvel, Avengers: Endgame, and Spider-Man:
Far From Home, all of which crossed the billion-dollar mark, grossing over
$5 billion. However, Disney received less than $4 billion from those 3 movies
due to the Sony agreement. Their creative assistance earned over $1 billion for
Sony this year on Spider-Man: Far From Home, while they received “just”
$56 million for their efforts.
Captain America: Civil War: $1,153,304,495Spider-Man: Homecoming: $880,166,924Avengers: Infinity War: $2,048,359,754Venom: $856,085,151Captain Marvel: $1,128,274,794Avengers: Endgame: $2,796,274,401Spider-Man: Far From Home: $1,127,766,196Movies listed in release order. All figures taken from BoxOffice Mojo
So, again, I think we can all agree that in Disney’s shoes,
we would also feel justified in wanting a larger share of the Spider-Man
pie moving forward.
This, I think, is why the two studios appear so unwilling
to cooperate in signing a new agreement.
Spider-Man Should Not Leave
I tried to be as fair and impartial to both studios as
possible above. I don’t think there’s any reason to point fingers or vilify one
studio or the other for making decisions that they think are in the best
interests of their own company.
That being said, I do not think that Sony’s decision to
pull Spider-Man out of the MCU is in their best interest. It certainly isn’t in
our best interests as fans!
Sony’s argument (the one I read into this decision) is
based on a false premise: it assumes that the Spider-Man and Venom facing off
in this hypothetical movie are the same Spider-Man and Venom who
appeared in the previous billion-dollar movies. Unfortunately, removing
Spider-Man from his MCU origin would result in a vastly-different character.
For good or for ill, this Spider-Man’s origin and
motivation are tied to Tony Stark at least as much as to Uncle Ben. Uncle Ben
certainly started him down the path to being the hero before Captain
America: Civil War, but it’s been Tony Stark pushing him since then. Tony’s
death in Avengers: Endgame was the driving factor in Peter Parker’s arc
through Spider-Man: Far From Home, regardless of whether you think that
was a good decision or a bad one. Even if Tom Holland is still playing the role
of Peter Parker in this hypothetical Spider-Man vs. Venom movie,
excising his MCU roots would result in a completely-different character. And
that character is not the one who just appeared in 3 billion-dollar
blockbusters in less than 16 months!
In addition, there are all of the other character moments
which have been tied into the MCU continuity. The relationship (or not) between
Aunt May and Happy Hogan is just one example of how closely this franchise is
connected to the MCU. At the end of Spider-Man: Far From Home, Peter has
been set up to take the place of Tony Stark as Earth’s resident tech genius,
complete with a pair of glasses that grant him access to advanced spy
technology. Peter and most of his friends are still dealing with the
aftereffects of having been blipped out of existence for 5 years. Every
Spider-Man suit currently in use was either created by Tony Stark or created
using Stark technology! If the Spider-Man franchise attempts to continue
outside the MCU, all of these character motivations would have to disappear,
along with all of the Stark tech equipment.
I saw a rumor (I don’t know if I believe it) that Tom
Holland is the only actor in the Spider-Man franchise who would actually
be obligated to appear in Spider-Man movies produced by Sony alone. If
that is the case, and Spider-Man’s entire supporting cast would have to be
recast, this would no longer even have the veneer of continuing the narrative
that started in Captain America: Civil War and has continued on through
5 movies, culminating with his secret identity being exposed at the end of Spider-Man:
Far From Home. It would be a completely new take on the character, with new
friends, a new love interest, and new antagonists. And we all remember how well
Sony managed the last time they tried to produce a Spider-Man movie on
their own…
Don’t get me wrong: the next Spider-Man movie needs
to see Peter Parker step out of Tony Stark’s shadow and establish himself on
his own terms as a hero and as a person. But this can’t happen if the movie has
to pretend that Tony Stark never existed. That would be like trying to step
from the dock into a boat… without a dock.
Simply put, Tom Holland’s version of Spider-Man belongs in
the MCU. He was introduced there. His character is inextricably linked to Tony
Stark. His entire life to this point has been shaped by the events of the MCU.
His story needs to continue within the context of the MCU. Take him out of the
MCU, and I do not think Sony can count on Spider-Man 3 being a
commercial success – certainly not the one they are hoping for before throwing
him and Venom into a movie together!
What Happens Now?
At this point, it looks like either the negotiations have
completely stopped, or they never stopped. Either the studios have both decided
to move on, or they are moments away from reaching a new agreement. Either
Disney is content to wait for Sony to sell off its movie division (at which
point the Spider-Man rights will revert back to Marvel Studios), or there’s an
offer on the table giving Disney everything they asked for.
Who knows?
Personally, I think that both sides need to come back to
the table and do whatever they need to do to negotiate a new deal. Don’t wait
for Sony to either implode the franchise on its own or sell itself off, neither
of which is really good for the fans. I think it would be possible to find a
way to keep Spider-Man in the MCU while both companies get part of what they
want. Here’s my proposal:
- Sony agrees to let Spider-Man stay within the MCU
- Disney agrees to work Venom into the MCU retroactively, and allow future Venom movies (and other “Venomverse” projects) into the MCU
- Sony agrees to give Marvel Studios creative control over any MCU-set movies they produce
- Disney agrees to work at least one Sony-produced MCU movie into their release schedule every year. For Spider-Man movies, both companies agree to a 70/30 sharing arrangement, with Disney paying 30% of production costs and receiving 30% of profits. For non-Spider-Man movies, the numbers from the previous arrangement remain in force (Disney pays none of the costs and receives 5% of profits). Any year without a Sony-produced MCU movie will have at least one Disney-produced movie featuring a Spider-Man character – and Sony will receive 5% of the profits for that movie instead.
- Sony will be able to use MCU characters (including Spider-Man) if they ever choose to produce a live-action Spiderverse movie, with Marvel Studios only overseeing as much of the project as is necessary to keep the multiversal concepts consistent with what has already been established in the Doctor Strange movies and the MCU-set portions consistent with the rest of the MCU. On such a movie, Disney would only receive 5% of the profits, based on the original agreement.
- Any non-MCU movies using Spider-Man characters are completely independent from Marvel Studios and without any sharing with Disney
Considering the less-than-favorable critical reception of Venom,
and that Kevin Feige did not have the same creative control over it that he had
over the other MCU movies, incorporating Venom into the MCU
retroactively may be a major concession on the part of Disney. However, if this
is what it takes for Sony to agree to bring Spider-Man back, they need to do
it. This way, both sides are getting some of what they want, but neither side
is getting everything they want. I don’t think this covers everything
that the agreement would need to cover, but I think it hits the main points.
And ultimately, I think the fans would win because we’d get good movies. And it
would #SaveSpiderMan in the MCU.
Do you think Spider-Man needs to stay in the MCU? How do
you think a future Disney/Sony deal should go? Let me know in the comments!
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