Sony-Marvel spat is exiling Spider-Man
And we thought Thanos posed the biggest threat in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
It turns out Sony put up the better fight by potentially blocking Disney and Marvel Studios’ access to Spider-Man for upcoming MCU films.
And fans of the Avengers franchise are none too happy with Sony’s decision. But one insider said that the late Stan Lee would have been pleased with this latest development.
His daughter, Joan Celia (JC) Lee, said the man behind Spider-Man and many other Marvel characters would never have approved of a monopolization of his characters. “Marvel and Disney seeking total control of my father’s creations must be checked and balanced by others who, while still seeking to profit, have genuine respect for Stan Lee and his legacy,” JC Lee told TMZ. “Whether it’s Sony or someone else’s, the continued evolution of Stan’s characters and his legacy deserves multiple points of view.”
The film rights to Marvel’s characters were divvied up among a number of studios before the potential of superhero movies were explored. Spider-Man was acquired by Sony in 1999 and the X-Men and Fantastic Four franchises ended up with 20th Century Fox.
Disney gained control over the majority of Marvel’s characters. In 2015, it came to an agreement with Sony to share the rights to Spider-Man and the character as portrayed by Tom Holland has appeared in five MCU films since, including “Avengers: Endgame” and “Spider-Man: Far from Home” from earlier this year.
Disney’s acquisition of Fox earlier this year reunited the Marvel family, but a rift between Sony and Disney threatens again to make Spider-Man the prodigal son. Unless the two sides come to an agreement, Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige will not be involved in future Spider-Man films, and the character will be shut out of the MCU.
Sony has not ruled out a compromise with Disney and Marvel.
“We hope this might change in the future, but understand that the many new responsibilities that Disney has given him — including all their newly added Marvel properties — do not allow time for him to work on (intellectual property) they do not own,” the studio said in a statement.