Spider-Man is swinging back into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and it's all because of...
you.
Disney co-chairman Alan Horn and Sony Pictures chairman Tom Rothman recently took part in
a roundtable discussion in which they agreed that if not for pushback from fans, this summer's
split which temporarily saw the wall-crawler ousted from the MCU might have remained permanent.
If you'll recall, Horn and Rothman managed to hammer out the finer points of a deal which
will allow Tom Holland's Peter Parker to appear in at least one more solo film set in the
MCU, as well as one additional, as-yet unnamed Marvel Studios picture.
When it was reported in August that Sony and Disney, Marvel's parent company, had failed
to reach an agreement to extend their shared custody arrangement of ol' web-head, fan backlash
was instant and furious and this, said Horn, was ultimately what convinced the involved
parties to get a deal done.
Horn explained:
"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 [Marvel Studios head honcho]
Kevin Feige were involved [in Spider-Man: Homecoming and Spider-Man: Far From Home].
We heard feedback out there that suggested that joining forces once again was probably
really a good idea."
"Why don't you try that on, and I'll introduce the world to the newest official member of
the Avengers…
Spider-Man."
Horn, apparently, is a master of understatement.
Twitter absolutely exploded in the wake of the news that Sony and Marvel were divorcing,
with a large chunk of fans simply beside themselves with shock and grief.
Holland himself did his best to console them during an appearance at Disney's D23 expo
the following weekend, and it may have been during that event that the young star upon
seeing just how much his version of the character meant to Marvel's fans decided upon a course
of action that few in his position would be gutsy enough to take.
He reportedly got in touch with Disney CEO Bob Iger one of the most powerful people in
the world of entertainment and told him in no uncertain terms that he needed to get Sony
back to the table.
Then, he allegedly put in a call to Rothman to tell him the same thing.
Improbably, the ploy didn't backfire ridiculously.
Holland kept his job, the two sides got back together, a deal was struck, and the fans
rejoiced.
Spider-Man is back in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but now, fans have another question:
for how long?
Are Spidey's days really numbered?
"You are a criminal!
A menace!
And the good people of this nation will squash you like the bug you are!"
Whether the deal will continue after Spidey completes his MCU solo film and team-up appearance
is a giant question mark, but given the fact that there are tons and tons of box office
bucks to be made by keeping fans happy, we tend to think that it's more likely than not.
Of course, the question was put to Rothman during THR's roundtable, and while he didn't
enthusiastically answer in the affirmative, he also didn't say no and it's pretty obvious
that he recognizes the value of the partnership.
The query was framed in an odd way, with the interviewer mentioning that Sony has, quote,
"shown [it] can do Spider-Man without Marvel" by way of the Oscar-winning animated film
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.
Rothman responded:
"Yes, we have.
But I agree with [Horn].
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."
There's actually quite a bit to unpack in that statement, not the least of which is
Rothman's apparent Shakespeare fandom and his seemingly disingenuous suggestion that
the media got ahead of the negotiations, as most details that was being reported was coming
directly out of the mouths of the involved parties.
In September, Sony CEO Tony Vinciquerra went so far as to say the, quote, "door was closed"
on Spidey's return to the MCU.
He said, at the time:
"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.
I think we're pretty capable of doing what we have to do here."
Thankfully, the fan backlash and Holland's timely intervention pushed the studios back
together, and now that they're back in business, it seems unlikely that anyone involved will
be keen to go through such a trying public ordeal again.
Feige has in the past teased his willingness to consider crossing over or even merging
Sony's budding cinematic universe with the MCU, because even before the whole kerfuffle,
he knew what Iger, Horn, and Rothman had to learn the hard way: Spider-fans like their
web-slinger right where he is.
"What are you doing?"
"Oh, this is nice."
Spidey's as-yet untitled third MCU solo outing hits the big screen on July 16, 2021.
Fingers crossed that it delivers on that Far From Home cliffhanger.
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