When Marvel announced their slate for Phase Four of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, many fans were left wondering what this meant for the future of the Spider-Man series. It was widely speculated that Marvel and Sony Pictures were simply finalizing their negotiations for another deal and that more information would be released at D23, however, while Sony has made major moves this week for the future of the Spider-Man game series, it looks like Peter Parker's days in the MCU might be done.
Spider-Man Out of the MCU?
Deadline reported the news yesterday, stating that Disney and Sony Pictures had failed to reach new terms for the two existing Spider-Man films that are currently in production. Negotiations are said to have been taking place over the past few months at the top level, where Disney had requested a 50/50 co-financing stake which ultimately leads to more control and profits compared to the current '5% of first-dollar gross' Disney currently receives.
Spider-Man, played by Tom Holland, first joined the MCU in 2016's Captain America: Civil War, before receiving his own solo film with 2017's Spider-Man: Homecoming, as well as playing significant roles in Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame. Most recently, the character's second solo outing, Spider-Man: Far From Home was released as the final film in Phase Three of the MCU with Jon Watts returning to direct alongside Holland in the leading role.
Spider-Man: Far From Home recently became Sony's highest-grossing film of all time, surpassing Skyfall with $1.109 billion at the box office worldwide. All of this comes before the re-release of Far From Home which will be hitting theatres in the US and Canada on August 29 including four minutes of never before seen footage in a brand new action sequence. The studio is hopeful for both Holland and Watts to return for future films but while Holland still has one solo film left in his contract with Marvel, Watts hasn't been signed on for anything so far.
Since the news broke, Sony has publicly commented on the situation, placing the majority of the blame on Disney's doorstep. According to Sony, Head of Marvel Studio's Kevin Feige would not be returning to produce future Spider-Man films as he has too much on his plate after the recent acquisition of the X-Men and Fantastic Four, adding Disney "do not allow time for him to work on IP they do not own."
Insomniac and Marvel Keep Rolling
While Spider-Man's movie future is looking bleak for the time being, this news comes just days after the surprise announcement that Sony's video game subsidiary, Sony Interactive Entertainment has purchased Insomniac Games, the developers of Marvels Spider-Man (2018). Insomniac Games is now the fourteenth active first-party PlayStation developer as part of SIE Worldwide Studios, joining the likes of Guerrilla Games (Horizon Zero Dawn), Santa Monica Studio (God of War), Naughty Dog (The Last of Us), and Sony Bend (Days Gone).
"Insomniac Games is one of the most highly-acclaimed development studios in the industry and their legacy of best-in-class storytelling and gameplay is unparalleled," said Shawn Layden, Chairman of Sony Interactive Entertainment Worldwide Studios, in a statement made alongside the announcement. "We have enjoyed a strong collaborative partnership with the studio for many years, and are thrilled to officially welcome them to the Worldwide Studios family. The addition of Insomniac Games to SIE WWS reiterates our commitment to developing world-class gaming experiences that can only be found on the PlayStation platform.”
Marvel's Spider-Man released on the PS4 in September last year to critical and commercial success, with critics praising its story, gameplay, and recreation of New York City. In fact, as of July 28th, Marvel's Spider-Man has sold 13.2 million copies worldwide, having already received the title for Best Selling PlayStation Exclusive and Best Selling Superhero Game of all time.
Insomniac Games has a long history of creating high-quality games, many of which were in partnership with Sony already. The studio first made their name for themselves with the Spyro the Dragon trilogy on PS1, followed up by the Ratchet & Clank series, the Resistance trilogy on PS3, the Xbox One exclusive Sunset Overdrive, and now Marvel's Spider-Man.
"Joining the WWS family gives Insomniac even greater opportunities to achieve our studio vision of making positive and lasting impressions on people’s lives,” said Ted Price, CEO, and founder of Insomniac Games. "We’ve enjoyed a special relationship with PlayStation practically since our inception. Our partnership amplifies our potential, and Marvel’s Spider-Man was a testament to this. We’re excited to take the next step in our growth alongside our longtime WWS partners. Most of all, we look forward to delivering fresh, new experiences for our fans.”
Insomniac Games has continued to support Marvel's Spider-Man with a number of updates since its release including all three DLC add-ons, and the addition of free new suits themed after the Fantastic Four, Sam Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy, and Far From Home. With such a talented group of developers working on the property, it certainly feels like Spider-Man has been left in the right hands when it comes to video games. And considering the success of the web-heads first outing on PS4, both Insomniac Games and Sony would be incredibly focussed on making significant improvements for the sequel.
Purchasing a studio like Insomniac Games also leaves the door open for potential sequels to Ratchet & Clank (2016), Resistance 3, or even Sunset Overdrive as Microsoft only owns the publishing rights to the game whereas SIE now owns the IP. Don't expect these games to come around anytime soon as both companies likely want to capitalize off the success and popularity of Spider-Man as quickly as they can but the door has at least been pushed a little further open than it was before.
Marvel's Spider-Man is available now, exclusively for the PS4. Spider-Man: Far From Home is currently still in theaters.
Source: Deadline