Indeed, for now at least, Spider-Man will no longer be a part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, as Sony Pictures has released an official statement on the situation. As reported by The Hollywood Reporter, Sony has confirmed talks have broken down and that Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige will no longer be involved in future Spider-Man movies.
"Much of today's news about Spider-Man has mischaracterized recent discussions about Kevin Feige's involvement in the franchise. We are disappointed, but respect Disney's decision not to have him continue as a lead producer of our next live action Spider-Man film," Sony said in a statement. "We hope this might change in the future, but understand that the many new responsibilities that Disney has given him - including all their newly added Marvel properties - do not allow time for him to work on IP they do not own. Kevin is terrific and we are grateful for his help and guidance and appreciate the path he has helped put us on, which we will continue."
For those who may need a refresher, here's what has been going on. A report from Deadline initially indicated that Sony and Disney couldn't come to terms on a deal for the future of the franchise. As it stands, Sony still owns the rights to Spider-Man, while Disney owns Marvel, which in turn means they're ultimately in control of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Kevin Feige, as President of Marvel Studios, has a great deal of power and had been a key player in this current version of the franchise, which has Tom Holland as Peter Parker.
Disney has yet to respond publically, but the whole thing has created quite the mess. This ultimately means that the inevitable sequel to Spider-Man: Far From Home won't be able to have any ties to the MCU, which will be tricky, given how directly tied to the MCU the past two movies have been. What's more, the MCU can no longer include Spider-Man, and Far From Home essentially positioned him as the heir apparent to Tony Stark. Point being, this is bad for both sides.
Fans have been extremely vocal about their distaste for the parting between the studios. Calls to boycott Sony began to gain traction on social media. Even Jeremy Renner, who plays Hawkeye, took to Instagram to show his support for Spider-Man remaining in the MCU. Have a look.
"Hey Sony Pictures we want Spider-Man back to Stan Lee and Marvel please, thank you #congrats #spidermanrocks #please," Renner wrote. Tom Holland has yet to weigh in publically. Though, one can imagine he's in a very unenviable place, as he's essentially at the center of a dispute between two very large media companies. No matter how enthusiastic the young actor is about playing Peter Parker, this surely isn't any fun for him.
So what do you think? Will Sony and Disney come together and work things out? Can the MCU and the Spider-Man franchise work if the two sides really do part ways? Sound off in the comments!
