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Sony and Marvel agree to share Spidey!
Other | Friday 27th February 2015 | Christina
Sony Pictures and Marvel Studios have managed to reach an agreement about Spider-Man’s big-screen adventures, much to the delight of superhero film fans. The new Spider-Man will first appear in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, most likely in Captain America: Civil War, before breaking into a Sony franchise in July 2017.
Marvel Comics sold off the rights to various titles before Marvel Studios was created in 2005, with Spider-Man going to Sony. The Spider-Man films were initially very successful but bad sequels (Spiderman 3), and a reboot that was more like a re-run, left Spidey suffering. Marvel’s phenomenal success, particularly with the $1.5bn The Avengers, only served to throw Sony’s shortcomings into sharper relief.
This agreement gives the Sony the chance to reboot the Spider-Man franchise (again) and get fans back on side – he’ll now be in continuity with other Marvel characters, and with new possibilities opened up by the crossover, Sony will benefit from renewed interest in the character. Sony will also be responsible for re-casting the role, and as it seems they want to start fresh with the character, we’re looking a teenage Peter Parker. The re-cast also gives Sony the opportunity to invest more in the character by tying an actor into a long-term deal, like Marvel have done with Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo and Chris Evans.
Crucially, the sharing agreement also states the studios don’t have to share profits – Marvel will keep the revenue from Captain America: Civil War and future Avengers films where Spidey appears, and Sony will be the beneficiary of the solo movies. However, what the deal hasn’t specified is whether the plots in each studio version will exist separately or if events in the Marvel Cinematic Universe will affect the story arcs of the Sony films. We’ll just have to wait and see on this one, but given the staggering success Marvel have achieved in creating a continuous universe, Sony would do well to follow their lead.
