Spider-Man Leaves the MCU

Overview

Spider-Man Leaves the MCU refers to Disney, the owner of Marvel Comics, potentially failing to reach an agreement with Spider-Man film rights holder Sony to produce more Spider-Man installments in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.. If the agreement is not reached, Spider-Man will no longer appear in the MCU movies, with Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige no longer producing future Spider-Man films.

Background

On August 20th, 2019, Deadline reported that Disney, the parent company of Marvel Studios, and Sony Pictures, the owner of Spider-Man film rights, have failed to reach an agreement on the distribution of income from the future Marvel Studios-produced Spider-Man installations.^[1][2] Disney reportedly requested 50/50 co-financing arrangement and a larger share of film box office instead of the current five percent of first-dollar gross, while Sony insisted on extending the current agreement.

Due to the inability to reach the agreement between studios, it has been announced that Marvel Studios' president Kevin Feige won't be producing any further Spider-Man films. Additionally, if the agreement is not reached, no more Spider-Man installments will be produced as a part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Notable Developments

On August 20th, 2019, Sony Pictures Twitter account posted a three-part response to the news, with the company putting the responsibility for Kevin Feige's departure from the franchise on Disney.

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.
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.

Online Reactions

On the same day, multiple posts criticizing the companies, primarily Sony, for not achieving the agreement, were posted online. In multiple examples, users lamented Spider-Man films potentially no longer being a part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and expressed concerns that actor Tom Holland could potentially be replaced with another lead (examples shown below).

Search Interest

External References