We’re all familiar with the story at this point. We reported at the end of August that Sony and Disney had reached an impasse in their renegotiations of the usage of the Spider-Man character on the big screen. As a result, Spider-Man would no longer be a part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. While a lot of fans were hopeful, in the coming weeks, the non-deal seemed set in stone and there was no coming back from it. However, about a month or so ago, news broke that Sony and Disney had finally come to an agreement and a new deal was signed. Marvel would produce a third Spidey film for Sony and the character will appear in the Marvel Cinematic Universe at least for a final time.
In a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Disney Studios chief Alan Horn and Sony Pictures chief Tom Rothman talked about the dispute between the two companies over the rights to Spider-Man as well as their eventual new agreement. When asked what was the most important thing that pushed them to resolve their standoff, Alan Horn had this to say:
The fan base, which is important to all of us, seemed to really respond to what Tom and his folks have done before with our people. They like the fact that the Marvel Cinematic Universe and Kevin Feige were involved [in the two Spider-Man films]. We heard feedback out there that suggested that joining forces once again was probably really a good idea.
Tom Rothman was pretty much on the same page as Horn, saying that while Sony has made good Spidey films without the help of Marvel Studios (i.e. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse), the new deal was pretty much a win for all parties involved.
I agree with my distinguished colleague. This was a classic win-win-win. A win for Sony, a win for Disney, a win for the fans. The only thing I would say is that news cycles and the rhythm of negotiations do not necessarily overlap. And this is, in the words of Shakespeare, a consummation devoutly to be wished. We would have gotten there, and the news got ahead of some things.
