As much as fans might be desperate forSpider-Manto officially return to the Marvel Studios fold and become a permanent part of the MCU, no uncertainty involved, the reality isSpider-Manmakes too much money for Sony to just hand him over. There’s absolutely no reason, or incentive, for Sony to give up one of its most popular assets, and fans would do well to be prepared for the fact that it will probably never happen.
The possibility has always felt like an inevitability.Spider-Manis, after all, one of the most prominent Marvel characters. Tom Holland’s version has been featured prominently in the MCU, not just in one movie, but in several. To fans not in the know, it’s easy to reach the conclusion that it’s just a matter of time before the character returns to Marvel Studios. This, however, is probably more wishful thinking than anything.
RELATED:The ‘Venom 2’ Release Date Has Been Pushed Back
One of the many reasons for the positive thinking in this regard is probably what happened withX-Men, another of Marvel’s most famous properties, which is now back in Marvel’s Studios hands. Except in these cases, it’s always about money, and the money isn’t always where fans would want it to be.The reason theX-Menrights reverted to Marvelisn’t goodwill or a desire to make people happy, but business. Disney bought 20thCentury Fox for a whopping $71.3 billion, and in doing so regained the rights to some of the studio’s most famous properties, that had been sold in the late ’90s to avoid bankruptcy.
In buying 20thCentury Fox Disney, Marvel’s parent company, Disney, didn’t justregain control over theX-Men, butalso theFantastic Four. The problem is, of course, that when those two very famous properties were sold,Spider-Manwas also sold, to a different studio. Sony, not 20th Century Fox, acquired the rights toSpider-Manin 1998, ten years beforeMarvel Studios releasedIron Man, back when the idea of a Marvel Cinematic Universe wasn’t a plan, or even a dream. The deal struck then granted Sony the opportunity to produce as manySpider-Man(orSpider-Manrelated) movies as it so desired, with the stipulation that it had to produce a new movie every five years.
The studio has kept its end of the bargain and then some. Does it feel like there’s beentoo much ofSpider-Manin the last twenty years? That’s probably because Sony was contractually obligated to keep making the movies, or the rights to the character would revert back to Marvel.
On paper, this sounds like a no-brainer. No studio is going to let character rights revert back to Marvel when all they have to do is use them and make money. But this has happened before, with characters likeGhost Rider,and evenThe Punisher, so fans have always held onto hope. Sony, however, seems to have no plans to hang up the Spider-suit, especially considering all theSpider-Manmovies have been a success – even if they haven’t all been the success Sony would have hoped.
AfterThe Amazing Spider-Man 2came out, Sony had a choice to make. The movie was expected to be the starting point for a great number of spin-offs, but the reaction wasn’t what the studio expected, and all those other projects were put on hold. They could have given up onSpider-Manthen, and the fact that they didn’t means it’s likely they never will. Instead, at this point in the story, Sony inked a deal with Marvel Studios to co-produceSpider-Manmovies. The solo movies featuring Spider-Man would be Sony’s property, with Marvel Studios getting 5% of the box office.
Why would Marvel Studios agree to this? Because the deal also allowed Marvel Studios to useSpider-Manin a select number of films (Captain America: Civil War,Avengers: Infinity War,andAvengers: Endgame). It was a win-win situation. Marvel Studios regained temporary use one of its most well-known characters and Sony benefited from Marvel Studios’ success withSpider-Manand earned a lot of money by basically piggybacking off the already established success of the MCU.
This deal, however, wasn’t meant to be permanent, and in 2019, it almost came to an end when negotiations regarding the future of the character fell through. Thankfully, a deal was struck, one that allowed Spider-Man to continue to appear in the MCU for at least one more movie, and Marvel Studios to co-produceanotherSpider-Mansolo project. But this is still shaky ground, and when this deal ends, the original one will still be in place, meaning Sony will have to produce a Spider-Man movie every five years, or risk losing the character. However, and this is the important part, Sony doesn’t necessarily have to produce films featuring Peter Parker. IfSony’s Cinematic Universe betpays off, just the association with Spider-Man will be enough for Sony to retain the rights.
Fans would love to see Spider-Manofficially return to the MCU, without the uncertainty of the current situation, but the truth is, there’s no reason to think Sony has any plans to stop making Spider-Man movies in the immediate future, and no reason to believe they would ever give up such a lucrative asset. Fans are probably better off enjoyingSpider-Manwhere they get him, and how they get him. Because Sony is set to maintain its control on the character for years to come, and that means the days of Peter Parker in the MCU might well be numbered.
MORE:Tom Holland Plans To Take A Break After ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’
