Marvel's Kevin Feige Won't Be Making Spider-Man Movies With Sony

Marvel and Sony have been renegotiating the rights to the beloved character since before Far From Home crossed the billion-dollar mark at the box office.

Disney wants more... Sony wants things to stay the same. So Sony has essentially canceled the future involvement of Marvel from the Spider-Man universe. This is a fascinating situation to watch in today's landscape where IP, and specific characters and the spinoffs associated with it, becomes the major driving force behind so many decisions and so many projects. 

Think of it this way: there have been THREE Spider-Man 2's (essentially) in the last couple of decades. Once Into the Spiderverse gets a sequel there will be FOUR!!!

According to Deadline: 

“There is a lot of webbing here, but it all comes down to money, and it’s easy to understand why both sides refused to give ground. Disney asked that future Spider-Man films be a 50/50 co-financing arrangement between the studios, and there were discussions that this might extend to other films in the Spider-Man universe. Sony turned that offer down flat, and I don’t believe they even came back to the table to figure out a compromise. Led by Tom Rothman and Tony Vinciquerra, Sony just simply didn’t want to share its biggest franchise. Sony proposed keeping the arrangement going under the current terms where Marvel receives in the range of 5% of first dollar gross, sources said. Disney refused.”

Deadline's sources said there are two more Spider-Man films in the works with director Jon Watts and star Tom Holland set to return and continue the story at hand. 

Sony has to be seeing a lot of money on the table, with Venom grossing $856 million worldwide. They currently have Andy Serkis directing Tom Hardy in the Venom sequel and then there is Morbius with Jared Leto. Those are hot titles, but Sony isn't stopping there. They also have Kraven the Hunter and another spinoff with the characters Silver Sable and Black Cat. 

While Disney wanted a bigger piece of the pie, it seems Sony's recent success with Into the Spiderverse and Venom left them confident they can continue to move the franchise forward without Marvel's involvement. 

Disney helped revive the character after he seemed all but lost, so we'll see if history repeats itself there. 

With 900 characters in the Spider universe, Sony sees an opportunity to grow without having to put money in Disney's pockets. 

You have to think Disney would be willing to get their checkbooks out to capitalize here too. Time will tell if they reenter the negotiations table. 

More details to follow...