Tom Holland’s return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Spider-Man may be made possible by a new agreement between Sony Pictures and Disney.
In 2015, Spider-Man/Peter Parker was to have a second reinvention on the big screen, this time in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), thanks to an unusual agreement between Sony Pictures and The Walt Disney Company. Thus, Captain America: Civil War from 2016 marked the start of the Tom Holland era for the superhero.
Holland made appearances in three solo movies and three MCU movies, including Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame, during the course of the following five years. The British actor has starred in some of the greatest movies ever made, with Spider-Man: No Way Home, his most recent project, becoming the sixth-highest-grossing movie of all time.
The road, though, hasn’t always been filled with sunshine and rainbows. Spider-Man would be departing the MCU, according to reports in 2019, following the release of Spider-Man: Far From Home, the first Spider-Man movie to gross $1 billion worldwide.
Fans flew into a frenzy at the prospect of Holland not being able to finish his MCU trilogy as talks came to an impasse.
In the end, the two businesses reached an agreement on a short-term basis that brought Spider-Man back into the MCU to complete the Homecoming trilogy following the success of Spider-Man: No Way Home around the world.
There are no present plans for a Spider-Man sequel or MCU crossover, so it’s unknown what Tom Holland’s Spider-Man will do in the future, although there have been several reports concerning Holland’s new contract.
It’s time to make predictions about how he might return, assuming he does.
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1. Disney and Sony reach a short-term agreement
There’s a real possibility that Tom Holland won’t play Spider-Man in the Marvel Cinematic Universe again after the 2019 disaster. However, while being questioned about No Way Home, Marvel Studios President and CEO Kevin Feige made some reassuring remarks.
In December 2021, Feige gave the New York Times a hint about the start of work on the second phase of Holland’s Spider-Man story:
“I only mention this upfront because I don’t want fans to experience any separation anxiety like what happened with Far From Home [the previous Spider-Man film, in 2019]. We’re actively starting to develop where the story goes next. This time, it won’t happen like that.”
A deal is probably going to happen given the assurance, but how long?
In 2019, Spider-Man nearly quit the MCU due to Disney’s unreasonable demands of Sony. It’s only fair that Disney/Marvel benefit from a franchise over which it has the majority of creative control after the success of Far From Home.
Disney, therefore, desired to provide 50% of the production budget and then collect 50% of the box office receipts.
In the end, Disney consented to a comparable arrangement with a 25% share of the Spider-Man pie. The two studios also agreed that Spider-Man will feature in a subsequent MCU movie, but this hasn’t happened yet.
According to the studio’s most recent negotiations, a new short-term agreement might be the most likely. Sony would primarily gain from this by maintaining its alternatives, particularly as the studio continues to expand its neighboring Spider-Man Universe.
However, a longer-term agreement is the best approach to maintain audiences’ interest if Sony is sincere about giving supporters what they want.
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2. Marvel Studios and Sony Agree to a Protracted Agreement
A contract between Sony and Disney over Tom Holland’s Spider-Man is reported to be focused on a second trilogy of standalone movies.
It is undoubtedly a good idea to commit to Holland as Peter Parker for the foreseeable future. The actor, who is only 26 years old, solely concentrated his first trilogy on Peter Parker’s time in high school, which left lots of room for future storylines.
With more at stake for Disney, this new contract might resemble an extended version of the initial 2015 accord.
A six-film agreement, for instance, may include three Sony Pictures-distributed solo films and three Marvel Studios productions, most likely Avengers movies or prospective crossover events like Captain America: New World Order or Fantastic Four.
Sony has every motivation to reach a new agreement after No Way Home’s enormous success, but Disney might once again demand higher compensation.
The 25% that was agreed upon for No Way Home may not be what Marvel Studios wants to commit to in the long run, even though 50% of the financials may be implausible. It might be more feasible for Disney to finalize the transaction if it moves closer to 30%–40%.
It’s critical to keep in mind that Sony is within its rights to refuse to give Disney and Marvel Studios more. Sony was never able to do it on its own, but the MCU entirely revived the character and gave us the first two $1 billion Spider-Man films.
There is a potential third alternative if Sony decides it would prefer not to continue co-producing Spider-Man movies with Marvel Studios.
3. Spider-Man rights are rented by Disney
There may be a radical new agreement between the two studios. Sony may elect to take a more hands-off approach as Morbius, Venom, and Madame Web help to expand its own distinct universe.
This proposed agreement would temporarily grant Marvel Studios the sole right to use Tom Holland’s Peter Parker and the supporting cast, yet not sell the rights back to Disney (as so many fans would prefer to see).
In this arrangement, Sony would either receive an upfront payment from Disney for the live-action rights or a more flexible deal in which Sony would receive a share of box office profits.
With Marvel receiving complete control over the project without having to work with another studio, the new agreement would probably be more advantageous for Disney. Another advantage of this agreement would be that Holland’s Spider-Man could make more imaginative appearances, such as in the gritty television program Daredevil: Born Again.
Is it unrealistic to believe that Sony will ever cede its rights to Spider-Man? Absolutely. However, it might offer its producers the freedom to make anything they want in their own world, perhaps even casting a live-action Miles Morales.
Fans have every reason to hold out hope that the two studios will reach a new agreement to share everyone’s favorite webhead. There are still many unanswered questions, such as whether Holland will accept whatever the media firms decide.
It’s a long process, but perhaps soon fans will be informed of a formal new agreement that will carry Peter Parker’s story in the MCU forward.
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