The Sony/Disney/Spider-Man furore continues, and Sony tries to dampen the flames.
The story so far: after Sony and Disney struck an unusual deal to share the screen rights to Spider-Man, things went well for a bit. Spider-Man appeared in a bunch of Marvel Cinematic Universe films, and in the guise of Tom Holland, also headlined a pair of standalone movies.
Then the deal came up for renewal. Then the problems came too.
Working through the assorted rumours, what seems to have happened is Disney asking for a bigger slice of the cake. For Sony, though, Spider-Man has emerged as its biggest franchise – most recently, very much with Marvel and its boss, Kevin Feige’s help – and whilst it wanted the deal to carry on, it didn’t want to hand over more cash.
Thus, it sounds as though Disney changed the terms of the deal it was willing to agree to, and Sony said no.
Here’s our story from yesterday.
The fallout has been characterised as Disney good, Sony bad online with – bizarrely – a #BoycottSony hashtag trending at one stage.
Sony, therefore, has put out the following on its Twitter feed to clarify matters.
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
It doesn’t seem to have done much to turn the tide of opinion. But as others have pointed out, Sony seems to be taking a lot of flack for what ultimately looks like a Disney decision.
Expect this one to run for a little longer yet.
