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The Spider-Man neighborhood has been resolutely hostile this week. A private and controversial battle over the future at the screen of the beloved Marvel superhero has spread over the public square in recent days. After shooting for two blockbuster movies, Sony Pictures, which holds the license rights of the Marvel character, will go it alone. As all fans and girls know now, he will no longer be a partner of the Disney-owned Marvel Studios for the production of suites.
The fallout from creative divorce has revealed an unfounded truth about Hollywood's obsession with financial results: studios do not like making big checks, especially when the recipient is a rival studio.
On Wednesday, Sony confirmed information that the production deal between the company and the Disney employee and Marvel's chief, Kevin Feige, would end. This leaves the franchise without the guidance of Feige and effectively eliminates Spider-Man from the Marvel Cinematic universe. Feige's team had the merit of bringing to the character a lighter touch that combined whistling and juvenile anguish in a way more faithful to the original comics.
Less than 24 hours after Sony's announcement on Tuesday that Spider-Man's latest independent film, "Far From Home," had become the most profitable film in the studio's 90-year history, the announcement of the end of the collaboration was announced. The reports were properly timed.
Sony had negotiated for Feige to stay in the fold of the board, but Disney – which this year swallowed 20th Century Fox and all of its Marvel characters – left the table after Sony had refused to increase its share of profits. According to some reports, Disney was essentially seeking to become an equal partner in the series. Another insider close to the deal said the talks should be renewed six months ago, and that Sony has not made a decision in favor of a new deal. Other people aware of the deal disputed this claim, saying that Disney had made it clear that he was no longer interested in the partnership. The pointing of the finger was dizzying.
Several insiders said Sony Pictures' chief Tom Rothman was willing to give up about 25 percent of the franchise and welcome Disney as a co-financing partner in exchange for Feige's services. When Marvel started producing rights on Spider-Man: Homecoming in 2015, Disney negotiated a percentage of gross and licensed consumer goods. Although Spider-Man can never appear in a film produced by Marvel Studios, you will still find the wandering character in Disney theme parks taking pictures with families and displaying items in gift shops.
To say that Feige is essential to the future success and profitability of the Walt Disney Company is a euphemism. It's an asset that Disney refuses to share with a rival studio, even at the expense of millions of moviegoers who consider Spider-Man as a member of the MCU. Trend topics such as #SaveSpiderManFromSony have overtaken Twitter. The daughter of Marvel's founder, Stan Lee, JC Lee, backed Sony, claiming that his father's creations required multiple points of view, even going so far as to say "nobody treated my father less well than the leaders. of Marvel and Disney ".
An insider said that Disney was partly motivated to abandon negotiations because she wanted Feige's full attention on Fox's newly acquired properties. After the bombardment of "X-Men: Dark Phoenix", a person close to Walt Disney Studios said that his co-president, Alan Bergman, insisted that the talks with Sony end. Another insider challenged "Dark Phoenix" as a motivator, but said that Bergman had led the charge in the Spider-Man case.
Rothman is known for his fierce bargaining ability and some people who have worked with him in the past have privately suggested that the public split could be a tactic to get Disney concessions. If the discussions do not resume, it will be up to the producer Amy Pascal to deliver films with the same creativity as those bearing the imprint of Feige. This could become more difficult now that Pascal has entered into a global production agreement at Sony in favor of a new deal at Universal.
Tom Holland, the young British star who has become one of the fans' favorites, is not going away for nothing. He is on the hook for two more films and could renegotiate his contract in the future. Sony also licenses some 900 other characters, related to Spider-Man, with whom he makes a Spider-Verse. "Venom", one of his first forays into building a cinematic universe was a darker adaptation with Tom Hardy and became a hit box office. The project, according to the insiders, has always been to reunite the Dutchman Spider-Man and Hardy's Venom in the same film. There is also Jared Leto's sexy vampire movie, "Morbius", and an independent film for "Kraven the Hunter".
Spider-Man's future films may face a narrative challenge. Movie events like "Avengers: Infinity War" and "Endgame" are widely cited in Sony's Spider-Man movies. Robert Downey Jr., now retired as Iron Man, appeared in the first Dutch film, assuming the role of Peter Parker's mentor. Stark's death in "Endgame" colors the events of "Far From Home", giving them a deeper emotional resonance. It's unclear whether future Spider-Man movies will even be able to refer to the character or events of previous Avengers releases.
Sony Pictures and Walt Disney Studios declined to comment on the case.
Marvel may regret his decision to unite his leading characters in an epic on the big screen. But that's not the priority. For now, the studio has made it clear that it's focused on creating original stories for new characters. Her next installment includes "The Eternals" with Angelina Jolie, "Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings" and a project to revive the "Blade" vampire hunter project starring Mahershala Ali. There are not many opportunities to bring together the great team that Stark had previously led and that Spidey had joined.
As an industry insider ironically pointed out: "If you did not notice it, the film was called" Endgame ".
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