Ever since The
Amazing Spider-Man 2 premiered last year to a world of disappointment, fans and
news outlets began speculating that the Sony franchise was swinging back to
Marvel. Last November after the devastating hacking scandal that left Sony
crippled in more ways than one, we learned that there was a nugget of truth to
those rumors and that both parties had indeed started negotiations about the
future of the Spider-Man franchise. Today as we all know a deal was struck, but
what does it entail?
According to The
Hollywood Reporter Marvel has been trying for years to reacquire the Spider-Man
rights. Billions were offered but Sony, which doesn't have a highly profitable
franchise, decided to keep it.
According to them,
"no money changed hands" in the deal, which is seen by sources as a
quid pro quo, meaning that Sony reaps from all the free exposure, while Marvel
gets a superhero heavyweight in their universe.
"Sony
would never have made this deal if they still retained the merchandising
rights," said one producer in the comic book field. "Even a poor
performing movie could be saved by strong merchandise sales, and Spider-Man is
one of the bigger brands out there."
Kevin Feige
and Amy Pascal, who was demoted after the hacking scandal, will produce the
next/first standalone Spider-Man film for Sony. However, it seems that despite
the shared custody, Sony and Pascal "will have more influence over the
actor cast in the iconic role because Sony retains final approval. The studio
is currently looking for an actor much younger than 31-year-old Andrew Garfield, who
most recently portrayed the superhero, as well as a writer for its
reboot."
The outlet sources also confirm that
director Marc Webb is out of the franchise, and that producers Matt Tolmach,
and Avi Arad, who have been a thorn on the side of many fans, "have been downgraded
to executive producers, with no real say in the creative direction of the
franchise."
Finally both studios are also looking for a way to
introduce characters from the MCU in future installments of the Spider-Man
franchise. "One knowledgeable source sees
the move as a first step to Marvel re-acquiring the rights to Spider-Man down
the road, while another believes Disney is positioning itself to acquire Sony
should it ever become available."
What do you think?
Source - THR
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