By now I’m sure you’re all aware of the news that came down the pipe late yesterday, that after both The Amazing Spider-Man and its sequel underperformed at the box office in 2012 and 2014, respectively, Sony has opted to provide rival studio and comic book movie factory Disney-Marvel the rights to its prized superhero possession for an upcoming Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) film.
A massive hack last fall brought to the fore Sony’s attempts to strike some sort of deal with Marvel, and the news was officially announced yesterday that Sony would lease its angsty web-slinger to the studio instead of selling him outright. The deal essentially allows Sony to keep the Spider-Man franchise in-house while also getting additional exposure for a character that sorely needs it from a studio, Marvel, that is arguably the leading expert on movie marketing success.
An article over at The Hollywood Reporter details why the move makes sense for both parties. While Marvel surely would have loved to purchase Spider-Man from Sony, and reportedly was ready to offer billions to get him, it’s still a savvy move any way you slice it. Per The Hollywood Reporter:
Sources say no money changed hands between the two studios in the deal and it is instead seen as a quid pro quo transaction. Sony benefits from the free exposure of a younger, rebooted Spider-Man in a film from red-hot Marvel, while Marvel gets its hands on the most prized superhero in its lucrative universe. Also, since Marvel controls the merchandising rights to Spider-Man, the effect this move will have on sales could be worth more than any cut they would have seen.
It’s certainly an interesting move for the studios, but with Sony wanting to retain the rights for future standalone Spider-Man features, it makes sense to leverage Marvel’s franchise-building expertise to get audiences excited for a new iteration of the character. With Sony’s next film in the franchise now slated for a July 28, 2017 release, this will be the third vision of the character to hit theaters in the last 15 years.
Marvel’s Kevin Feige will co-produce this next standalone Spider-Man flick for Sony alongside Amy Pascal, and from the sounds of it, while Marvel gets to use Spider-Man in an upcoming MCU film, Sony and Pascal are the ones who will get to decide who to ultimately cast in the role with Andrew Garfield now out of the picture. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Sony is seeking an actor “much younger” than the 31-year-old Garfield, who obviously is now considered “old.”
I guess that means those clamoring for Donald Glover to be cast in the role are going to have to settle for someone else, as Glover, like Garfield, is 31-years-old. In other words, the newly-revived #Donald4Spiderman social media campaign doesn’t seem likely to convince Sony that Glover is the guy for the job. For now, Spidey is rumored to make his first MCU appearance in 2016’s Captain America: Civil War, and if that’s the case, my guess is casting ought to be starting soon if it hasn’t already begun in some way. I guess that means you’ll have to stay tuned for more in the coming days, weeks, and months. As always.
