Yesterday, fanboys and girls were given a punch to the gut as news spread of Sony and Disney/Marvel ending their Spider-man partnership.
Reel 360 reported that Disney wanted an even split of the gross, not content to stay at the previously agreed on 5 percent. When the two studios couldn’t reach an agreement, they parted.
This means Kevin Feige will no longer serve as a producer on the next two Spider-Man films starring Tom Holland which were apparently planned.
On comic book and movies sites, much of the blame was put on Sony.
Now Sony has released an official response, calling many of the stories “mischaracterized” and squaring much of the blame on Marvel Studio president Kevin Feige’s workload.
Sony released a thread on Twitter late last night discussing the widely-circulated news. The company said it’s disappointed by Disney’s decision to no longer have Feige as a lead producer on Sony’s Spider-Man films, claiming it’s because of Feige’s increased workload following Disney’s acquisition of Fox. Read below:
Much of today’s news about Spider-Man has mischaracterized recent discussions about Kevin Feige’s involvement in the franchise. We are disappointed, but respect Disney’s decision not to have him continue as a lead producer of our next live action Spider-Man film. (1/3)
— Sony Pictures (@SonyPictures) August 21, 2019
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 IP they do not own. (2/3)
— Sony Pictures (@SonyPictures) August 21, 2019
Kevin is terrific and we are grateful for his help and guidance and appreciate the path he has helped put us on, which we will continue. (3/3)
— Sony Pictures (@SonyPictures) August 21, 2019
ALSO READ: Marvel and Sony end ‘Spider-Man’ partnership
There’s also the issue of the other aspects of Disney and Sony’s agreement, which allowed Disney’s Marvel characters to appear in Sony’s Spider-Man films, and vice versa. If Disney has truly walked away from the partnership, that could mean the crossover agreement (which was done in exchange for co-producer credit on Sony’s films) is also off the table, and both companies would have to go to the drawing board to establish those terms.
No word from Feige and the Mouse yet. This is extremely disappointing news and can really only be placed on Hollywood greed and not what is best for the fans.
Source: Twitter
