Marel fans, rejoice! After a tumultuous few weeks, Disney and Sony have come back to the table and made a new deal that will allow for Spider-Man to stay in the Marvel Cinematic Universe for at least a little while longer, as reported by Variety. The deal extends to one more solo movie and one more appearance from star Tom Holland in another, as-of-yet-unnamed MCU movie.
"I am thrilled that Spidey's journey in the MCU will continue, and I and all of us at Marvel Studios are very excited that we get to keep working on it," Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige said in a statement. "Spider-Man is a powerful icon and hero whose story crosses all ages and audiences around the globe. He also happens to be the only hero with the superpower to cross cinematic universes, so as Sony continues to develop their own Spidey-verse you never know what surprises the future might hold."
Sony still controls the movie rights to Spider-Man. Back in 2015, a deal was struck with Marvel Studios that would allow for the character to appear in the MCU, with Feige and Marvel producing solo entries that would exist in the MCU, but be distributed by Sony. Disney, who owns Marvel, has only been getting about 5 percent of the profits from those solo entries. Given the success, Disney wanted to be cut in further on future installments. That led to an impasse, albeit a temporary, yet highly publicized one that has been subject of much discussion over the last several weeks.
The new deal reportedly will see Marvel/Disney taking 25 percent of the box office from the Spider-Man: Far From Home sequel. However, that also means Disney will be putting up 25 percent of the financing as well. The untitled third entry in the series is dated for July 16, 2021.
"This is terrific," Producer Amy Pascal said. "Peter Parker's story took a dramatic turn in "˜Far From Home' and I could not be happier we will all be working together as we see where his journey goes."
Another key element came to light shortly after the new deal was announced. Jon Watts, who directed both Spider-Man: Homecoming and Spider-Man: Far From Home, is said to be in final talks for the new movie as well. Watts' future was on uncertain ground when the split was announced a few weeks back, as both Marvel Studios and Sony hoped to keep him on board for future projects.
"We have had a great collaboration over the last four years, and our mutual desire to continue was equal to that of the many fans," said Robert Lawson, chief communications officer for Sony Pictures Entertainment. "We are delighted to be moving forward together."
It's unclear how likely it will be that this partnership continues beyond these two MCU installments. At the very least, it will allow for that Far From Home cliffhanger to resolve itself in a satisfying way, and can give fans some form of closure, instead of leaving things off on a frustrating note.
