Ever since Tom Holland’s Spider-Man was introduced in 2016’s Captain America: Civil War, it was clear he was being groomed by Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr) and Marvel Studios to play a big role in the MCU’s future. But now it looks like those plans will no longer come to fruition, as it was announced earlier this week that Sony and Marvel have decided to end their partnership with Marvel Studios and Disney in producing new Spider-Man films, effectively putting an end to Spidey’s time in the MCU.
So what does this mean for everyone’s favourite webhead? The good news is that Sony has a solid foundation to work from: Holland is widely regarded as the best onscreen version of Peter Parker we’ve seen, and it’s safe to assume that the strong supporting cast of Marisa Tomei, Zendaya, and Jacob Batalon will also remain intact. The other key part of that nucleus is Homecoming and Far From Home director Jon Watts, and thankfully he is still signed on for a couple more films. Additionally, 2018’s fantastic Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse also offers some comfort – if Kevin Feige is no longer in the producer’s chair, then Phil Lord and Chris Miller would be an excellent choice to help guide Spidey in this new phase.
It’s also now likely that Spidey will be sharing the screen with Venom before long. A sequel to the latter’s movie – which proved popular at the box office, if not with critics – is in the works, with Andy Serkis calling the shots. Having Venom, Carnage and Spidey on screen together for the first time is a tantalising and potentially very lucrative prospect that Sony surely have on their minds.
Sony going it alone does come with a few concerns though. Part of the reason that the partnership with the MCU came to be was that The Amazing Spider-Man 2 was a dud with both critics and fans, and its box office take is the lowest of any Spidey film in the last two decades. Comparatively, the MCU quickly restored the hero to onscreen glory, and Far From Home became the first solo Spider-Man film to cross the $1 billion mark earlier this year.
While both the MCU and Sony will survive the split, it can’t help but feel like the biggest losers in all of this are the fans.
Speaking of the MCU, there was nary a mention of Spidey’s name when Kevin Feige revealed Marvel’s Phase 4 slate back in July, and now we know why. Spider-Man’s absence gives the MCU a number of storytelling issues as Far From Home went to great lengths to further ensconce Peter Parker into that universe. Indeed, at a crucial moment in that film, a key piece of dialogue has Happy telling Peter that “I don’t think Tony would have done what he did if he didn’t know you were going to be here after he was gone”. It’s only taken a couple months for that quote to age badly.
There’s also the question of whether or not the MCU at large will address Spidey’s absence or just ignore him entirely. Luckily, Far From Home’s conclusion (Spoiler Warning!) – which saw the world learn that Peter Parker is Spider-Man, right after Mysterio (Jake Gyllenhaal) made it look like he was a murderer – makes either option viable. Perhaps the MCU’s other heroes feel like they can no longer trust Spidey, who has since gone into hiding?
Which begs the question… will Marvel and Sony resolve their issues and reverse course? Reports suggest that the reason for the break-up is down to money (which Disney has a lot of), so there’s a possibility that this is all a negotiating tactic and a deal will be made somewhere down the line.
In any case, while both the MCU and Sony will survive the split, it can’t help but feel like the biggest losers in all of this are the fans. Sony and Marvel’s partnership was yielding some of the best Spider-Man moments ever committed to the big screen, thanks in no small part to the fact that Spidey was finally interacting with Earth’s Mightiest Heroes. That’s something we thought we’d be seeing much more of, and now that we have proof of how great that interconnectivity is, going back to Spider-Man films where that’s no longer possible is a gut-punch.