Spidey Returns!

Spider-Man has returned to the MCU! Today, it was announced that Sony and Disney had come to an agreement and that the sequel for Spider-Man: Far From Home would be released on July 16, 2021. In the deal Kevin Feige will produce, Marvel and Disney will receive roughly 25% of the profits and Disney will retain its merchandising rights and will put up roughly a quarter of the financing. As part of the arrangement, Spider-Man will also appear in one future Marvel Studios film. 

Kevin Feige stated after the news broke, “I am thrilled that Spidey’s journey in the MCU will continue, and I and all of us at Marvel Studios are very excited that we get to keep working on it. Spider-Man is a powerful icon and hero whose story crosses all ages and audiences around the globe. He also happens to be the only hero with the superpower to cross cinematic universes, so as Sony continues to develop their own Spidey-Verse you never know what surprises the future might hold.”

Sony broke on Thursday that they are developing a Madame Web movie set in the Spider-Verse with Venom and Morbius and Fandom reported we could see more solo films from characters like Kraven the Hunter, Silver Sable and Black Cat. Many people are focusing on Feige's statement and if we could see a crossover with these characters and the MCU and Tom Holland's Spider-Man spanning two different movie universes.

Having Spider-Man interact with two separate universes is definitely interesting. Having him in the MCU can tell a more complex story centered on the story of the Marvel Universe as a whole, but having him interact with the Spider-Verse is a great way to have them tell more Spider centric stories. These would be like what you see in a comic book. If you read a Spider-Man comic or Spider-Man crossover event just across his titles, this is what the Sony Spider-Verse could be, and the MCU for Spider-Man could be like a more like a wider crossover event with bigger stakes. As long as Sony works on telling a story much like the MCU and connect the stories to Spider-Man, then I think we could have some interesting and complying Spidey movies in the future!

The Sony Spider-Verse

It's been three weeks since Disney and Sony had a falling out and Spider-Man was caught in the middle. Yesterday Sony Pictures chairman and CEO Tony Vinciquerra reveled that the door was closed on Spider-Man returning to the MCU and stated, “Spider-Man was fine before the event movies, did better with the event movies, and now that we have our own universe, he will play off the other characters as well,” Vinciquerra said. “I think we’re pretty capable of doing what we have to do here.” It was also confirmed that Sony was developing 5-6 TV shows on Spider-Man properties including Nightwatch, Jackpot, and Silk.

I'm a big Spider-Man fan and seeing Spider-Man and his universe on the big screen is always a delight. I even saw the 2002 Spider-Man film in theaters. But I have a major problem with Sony and how they operate and run the Spider-Man franchise. Sony becomes too ambitious with what it wants to do with Spidey. That's how we got him in the MCU in the first place! When Sony had it's email hacked and leaked in 2014, it revealed what the following movies would be. There would be a Venom movie (which was later made with Tom Hardy), a Sinister Six movie, a Black Cat movie, a Spider-Man 2099 movie, two sequels to the Amazing Spider-Man movies, and an Aunt May movie. All of these coming from only two poorly received movies. Sony wanted to follow what Marvel was doing, but couldn't and ultimately had to give in and bring Spidey into the MCU.

Now with the success of Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, a fantastic animated movie and so-so stand alone Venom movie, they want to have Spider-Man reintegrate back into their properties. The problem with this is the universe is not surround around Spider-Man, but individual characters. Venom was filmed and released before Spider-Man left the MCU and Morbius is being filmed now and is to be released next July. The MCU is about everyone and how they all fit into the puzzle. This "Spider-Verse" is going to be about individuals and how other's fit their narrative. Studios need to realize that following the MCU is a big mistake. Do your own thing. Be different. Ask Universal Studios about establishing a connected universe went or even the DCEU. The DCEU is to worried about catching Marvel and shoving characters on screen and not about story building, character growth or follow through until it's to late   

Again, I'm a big Spider-Man fan. Been all my life. I'm hoping that Sony and Disney can mend the fence and bring Spidey back to the MCU along with Silk, Jackpot, Venom, and the others. But until then I have to cross my fingers that Sony doesn't once again water down and destroy Spider-Man.

Sony Developing 5-6 TV Shows Set in Spider-Man's Universe(Screen Rant):https://bit.ly/2lDFQAx

Sony Pictures Chief on Spider-Man Split: ‘For the Moment the Door is Closed’(Variety):https://bit.ly/2k2JPWR