Due to a breakdown in the partnership between Sony and Marvel Studios, it looks like the MCU will include Spider-Man no more – with Tom Holland’s incarnation of Peter Parker due to continue outside of the continuity of the interconnected Marvel movies. It’s news that fans of the wall-crawler and the long-running universe saga are understandably not thrilled about – and as the dust begins to settle, Sony has now released a statement online indicating that it’s ‘Disney’s decision’ that the deal won’t continue.
“Much of today’s news about Spider-Man has mischaracterized recent discussions about Kevin Feige’s involvement in the franchise,” the statement reads. “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. 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. 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.”
For a seemingly upbeat statement, there are some interesting notes in here – particularly the bit saying that Feige has an increased workload owing to the upcoming introduction of the Fox characters that will “not allow time” for him to oversee Spidey. While there are individual details that still seem to be negotiable, the release of a statement from Sony indicates a level of finality to the decision – still, people said that about James Gunn's excision from the MCU and he's now back on board for Guardians 3, so never say never. Stay tuned for more updates as the ramifications of the deal are fully drawn out.