There once was a time when it seemed like Spider-Man would never join the MCU. See how Sony and Marvel made an unprecedented deal happen.
Sony Pictures
Since his first appearance in 1962, Spider-Man has been the superhero most associated with Marvel Comics. His feature films were some of the most popular movies at the dawn of the 21st century and paved the way for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Yet in 2012, it seemed like Spider-Man would never actually be able to fight alongside the Avengers because Sony had canceled Spider-Man 4 and fast-tracked The Amazing Spider-Man to avoid losing the rights to the web-slinger to Marvel.
But in February 2015, what many thought was impossible became possible. A deal was struck between Sony Pictures and Marvel Studios to bring Spider-Man into the MCU with a new reboot. Spider-Man would be allowed to appear in Disney-produced Marvel team-up films, while Sony would be allowed to feature MCU characters in their films. How did this monumental deal happen? Here is a breakdown of how Spider-Man joined the MCU.
The Amazing Spider-Man 2 Was a Disappointment
Sony Pictures
The Amazing Spider-Man 2 was released in theaters on May 2, 2014. While it managed to gross $709 million worldwide and was the ninth-highest-grossing film at the worldwide box office in 2014, it was seen as a disappointment compared to other Spider-Man movies. The movie also grossed less than Marvel Studios’ two 2014 releases: Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Guardians of the Galaxy. Those two franchises were based off characters less well-known than Spider-Man.
On top of that, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 received the worst reviews of any film in the Spider-Man franchise at that point. This was all bad news for Sony, who was invested in launching a shared universe from The Amazing Spider-Man 2 with projects focused on Venom and The Sinister Six, as well as two Amazing Spider-Man sequels planned. It was apparent that the Spider-Man brand had taken a hit among audiences and that Sony needed to gain some goodwill. With how popular the Marvel Cinematic Universe had become, allowing Spider-Man to join the franchise would help restore audience faith in the brand.
Sony and Marvel Behind the Scenes
Sony Pictures
While Sony Pictures wanted to keep control of the Spider-Man film rights, they still kept communicating with Marvel Studios despite the two now being major competitors at the box office. When Sony canceled Spider-Man 4 and announced The Amazing Spider-Man reboot, Iron Man 2 was set to come out, and the MCU was still early in its development. There were talks about incorporating The Oscorp Tower from The Amazing Spider-Man into The Avengers but by the time the design for Oscorp was finished The Avengers skyline was already finalized meaning it was too late. Had this happened, it would have connected The Amazing Spider-Man films to the MCU.
Before the release of The Amazing Spider-Man 2, Amy Pascal sent Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige a copy of the film and asked for some notes. Feige gave many notes on the film, most of which Sony ignored. Then in late 2014, after The Amazing Spider-Man 2 disappointed at the box office, discussions between Sony and Marvel Studios began to take place about possibly incorporating Spider-Man into the upcoming film Captain America: Civil War. When Kevin Feige first proposed the idea, Amy Pascal was reportedly so unhappy she threw a sandwich at him. But the two parties eventually came to an agreement.
Terms of the Spider-Man Agreement
Sony Pictures
In the original deal, Marvel Studios and Sony came to was that Sony would retain the film rights to Spider-Man but Marvel Studios would develop them with Kevin Feige signed on as a producer. Sony would pay for the films and distribute them and would gain most of the profits from the solo Spider-Man films. Marvel Studios would collect 5% of the gross on the MCU-produced Spider-Man films. In return, Disney and Marvel Studios would be allowed to use Spider-Man in their films. The original contract was for five movies which became Captain America: Civil War, Spider-Man: Homecoming, Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame, and Spider-Man: Far From Home.
The other stipulation of the deal was that Sony was allowed to use other Marvel characters in their Spider-Man films as supporting characters. This is why Spider-Man: Homecoming features Iron Man, Spider-Man: Far From Home has Nick Fury, Maria Hill, and Talos, and why Doctor Strange and Wong appear in Spider-Man: No Way Home.
Sony wants to remind audiences of the MCU since the franchise has generated such goodwill, and the attachment to the MCU is good for their box office. It paid off as Spider-Man: Homecoming outgrossed both The Amazing Spider-Man films and Spider-Man: Far From Home became the first Spider-Man film to cross $1 billion at the worldwide box office.
Sony and Marvel Split Up for a Short Time
Sony Pictures
On August 20, 2019, it was announced that Sony Pictures and Marvel Studios had ended their deal on Spider-Man. This news came just one month after Spider-Man: Far From Home opened and ended with a major cliffhanger. Reportedly Sony wanted to extend the deal with Marvel Studios for more movies but keep the same price deal, while Disney reportedly wanted more of the profits.
The news sparked a massive outcry from fans, and luckily star Tom Holland was able to talk to Disney CEO Bob Iger and Sony Pictures CEO Tom Rotham to open negotiations back up. On September 27, 2019, the news was confirmed that Marvel Studios and Sony Pictures had reached a new deal.
As part of the new deal, Spider-Man is now set to appear in two MCU films, and Spider-Man: No Way Home counts as one of those films. This leaves either a fourth Spider-Man movie or an appearance in an MCU film for Spider-Man to appear before Sony and Marvel need to come to another deal. Marvel Studios also negotiated 25% of the profits on Spider-Man: No Way Home but in exchange had to also pay a quarter of the budget as well. Seeing as how Spider-Man: No Way Home grossed $1.9 billion worldwide, it was a deal that paid off.
What the Future Holds for Spider-Man
Sony Pictures
It is unclear what the future holds for Spider-Man in the MCU, as well as Sony and Marvel Studios deal. After Spider-Man: No Way Home became the first film since the COVID-19 pandemic to cross $1 billion worldwide, it seemed fair to assume a fourth Spider-Man film in the MCU would happen. With just one more film as part of the original deal, it could be that Marvel Studios is saving it for a role in either Avengers: The Kang Dynasty or Avengers: Secret Wars.
There is always a chance a new deal is struck that will allow Spider-Man to stay in the MCU for a longer time and have more appearances. With the multiverse saga opening up, Marvel Studios could negotiate with Sony Pictures to allow them access to Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield’s Spider-Man to appear in multiverse stories like Deadpool 3 or Avengers: Secret Wars, or the characters from Sony’s shared universe like Venom or Miles Morales. Fans now eagerly await what will happen to the web-slinger and his status in the MCU.
