Credit: Sony PicturesThere’s something about Marvel’s Spider-Man that has captured the imagination of people the world over.
Marvel Comics’ tale of Peter Parker, a native of Queens, New York City, who transforms into the hero Spider-Man after being bitten by a radioactive spider, has cemented the phrase “with great power comes great responsibility” in the cultural zeitgeist.
Related: Report: Disney Will Finally Introduce Fan-Favorite Spider-Man to MCU in ‘Spider-Man 4’
The now-classic superhero narrative has one of Marvel’s strongest rogue’s galleries including the Green Goblin/Norman Osborn, and Doc Ock/Doctor Octopus/Otto Octavius, alongside Spider-Man’s biggest champions, Uncle Ben, Aunt May, Mary Jane Watson, (and sometimes) Harry Osborn.
The Spider-Man story has evolved across various media, from animated adaptations to live-action films, cementing its status as a timeless masterpiece in superhero lore.
The Fight Over Spider-Man: Disney vs. Sony
The Marvel Cinematic Universe, spearheaded by Marvel Studios under The Walt Disney Company, propelled Tom Holland‘s Peter Parker/Spider-Man into the spotlight. Sony, holding the rights to the Spider-Man franchise after Marvel Comics sold the film right — leading to the early 2000’s classic Sam Raimi Spider-Man trilogy with Tobey Maguire as Peter Parker and the 2010’s Amazing Spider-Man reboot led by Andrew Garfield in the titular role.
It was only recently that Sony relinquished creative control to Kevin Feige’s Marvel Studios due to the MCU’s overwhelming popularity following Iron Man (2008) and the Avengers movies.
Related: ‘Venom 3’ To Bring in ‘Spider-Man’ Plot, Star Shares First Look
Rebooting Spider-Man yet again with Tom Holland as a younger iteration of the web-slinger, Disney and Sony struck a now-famous deal that saw Holland debut in Captain America: Civil War (2016), before debuting in his solo movie Spider-Man: Homecoming (2018). Subsequent Spidey films Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019) and Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021) both hit it big at the box office, pleasing both the House of Mouse and Sony Pictures.
Unfortunately, it appears that that relationship has been on the rocks lately, all due to the fourth Holland-led Spider-Man 4 that will see the star return after his Spidey hiatus post-No Way Home.
Known Hollywood and Marvel insider Alex Perez has presented new reports regarding Disney and Sony’s internal discussions.
It’s well-known by now that Sony is very much aboard the “Multiverse” train, having been enticed by the cross-universe story bringing in major Sony Spider-Man characters into 2021’s No Way Home, from Maguire and Garfield to a whole host of Sony film universe baddies, including Alfred Molina’s Doc Ock/Otto Octavius, Jamie Foxx’s Electro/Max Dillon, Thomas Haden Church’s Sandman/Flint Marko, Rhys Ifans’ Lizard/Dr. Curt Connors, and Willem Dafoe’s Green Goblin/Norman Osborn.
With No Way Home‘s formula proving so successful, it appears that Sony is hard-bent on recreating that (box office) magic again — while Disney and Marvel Studios are desperate to pull their reputation back from the “superhero fatigue” brink. Marvel President Kevin Feige has been on record with his plans to develop a more “grounded” approach to win back fans with quality storytelling, building a “street-level” team headed by Charlie Cox’s Daredevil/Matt Murdock and Holland’s Spider-Man as the leaders of the story, largely revolving around Vincent D’Onofrio’s terrifying Kingpin/Wilson Fisk.
Regarding this dispute, Alex Perez shares the following insider information about Disney and Sony reaching a purported “middle ground”, and negotiating having “both elements” of a Multiversal and street-level story. Allegedly, there is another issue — as Sony wants a 2025 release of the film, which would mean Disney and Marvel Studios have to rush a film that is “unlikely to work”:
So far what’s been out there is accurate. If I had to give my input, it would be that a middle ground is being negotiated by having the story involve both elements. And right now, Sony’s aiming for a 2025 release, which would be very unlikely to work at this current stage.
So far what’s been out there is accurate. If I had to give my input, it would be that a middle ground is being negotiated by having the story involve both elements. And right now, Sony’s aiming for a 2025 release, which would be very unlikely to work at this current stage. https://t.co/D0LgfBnhVT
— Alex P. (@AlexFromCC) March 1, 2024
Incidentally, this is the likely reason for the recent reports about including a live-action Miles Morales, set to debut in Spider-Man 4. The character has gained significant popularity from Sony’s award-winning Spider-Verse animated franchise, with Shameik Moore’s Morales becoming a fast fan favorite.
It would make a lot of sense for Disney to acquiesce, including the “higher quality”-seeming parts of Sony’s Spider-Man film franchises, as recent Sony Spider-Man Universe (SSU) movies like Morbius (2022) and Madame Web (2024) flopping incredibly hard, despite the still somewhat-popular Venom franchise doing okay in terms of audience reception.
It’s no secret that the constant churn of SSU films consistently lowers the perceived quality of Marvel movies, especially considering most laypeople are unaware that the two Marvel universes technically operate separately.
Having characters travel between both worlds does not help the confusion. Hopefully, this does not spell the end for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, as Sony’s desire to take that (likely Summer) 2025 slot would put Spider-Man 4 head-on with DCU and James Gunn’s debut SUPERMAN (formerly Superman: Legacy).
What do you think about the chances for Spider-Man 4, and the battle between Disney and Sony? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!