Note: Spoilers for Avengers: Endgame and Spider-Man: Far From Home ahead.
In a plot twist about as surprising as Spider-Man coming back from the Snap, the beloved character is back in the Marvel Cinematic Universe after slightly over a month in the wilderness. Deadline reports that Sony, the owner of the webslinger’s movie rights, came to an agreement with Disney on sharing the superhero for at least two more films. The third standalone Spider-Man movie starring Tom Holland is set for July 16, 2021, with Marvel Studios’s Kevin Feige and Pascal Pictures’s Amy Pascal producing.
“I am thrilled that Spidey’s journey in the MCU will continue, and I and all of us at Marvel Studios are very excited that we get to keep working on it,” Feige said in a statement. “Spider-Man is a powerful icon and hero whose story crosses all ages and audiences around the globe. He also happens to be the only hero with the superpower to cross cinematic universes, so as Sony continues to develop their own Spidey-verse you never know what surprises the future might hold.”
The particulars on the deal have yet to be revealed, though the temporary split came when Marvel asked for a bigger cut of the box office billions the Holland-led movies generated. Reports back then suggested the comic book giant wanted a 50/50 co-financing pact, while Sony wanted to share only about 5% of the first day’s haul. For Spider-Man: Far From Home, that would’ve been $1.96 million, with the flick raking in over $1.1 billion, Sony’s highest-ever take.
What exactly is in store for Spider-Man’s future adventures is still unknown. As you’ll likely remember from the end of Far From Home, Mysterio and J. Jonah Jameson conspired to publicly out Peter Parker as the hero, and the new deal stipulates that the character will appear in another Marvel film aside from the 2021 standalone. Sony, meanwhile, has its own Spidey-related films going, with Tom Hardy returning for a Venom sequel that will be directed by Andy Serkis, Jared Leto taking on the role of the vampire villain Morbius for a 2020 movie, a Madame Web movie that was just announced, and a planned sequel to the acclaimed animated Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.
Marvel, meanwhile, has a host of movies slated for the fourth phase of the MCU, including sequels to Thor, Guardians of the Galaxy, Doctor Strange, Black Panther, and Captain Marvel, plus the Black Widow film starring Scarlett Johansson, The Eternals with Angelina Jolie leading an all-star cast, and the debut of its first Asian-American superhero lead in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. That’s on top of the Loki, Scarlet Witch, Falcon, Hawkeye, She-Hulk, Ms. Marvel and other projects that are coming to the Disney+ streaming service.
“This is terrific. Peter Parker’s story took a dramatic turn in Far From Home and I could not be happier we will all be working together as we see where his journey goes,” Pascal said of the new Spider-Man deal. “This has been a winning partnership for the studios, the franchise and the fans and I’m overjoyed it will continue.”
Spider-Man himself, Tom Holland, and Zendaya—who plays love interest MJ—both took to social media to celebrate the news.
More details about the deal and Spider-Man’s next onscreen appearance are likely coming soon following this very welcome surprise. In the meantime, it’s safe to assume that Tony Stark is sadly still dead.
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