Mr. Feige, I don’t feel so good. On Tuesday, August 20, Sony announced that the film rights to Spider-Man, which were previously owned by both Sony and Disney/Marvel Studios, would return to Sony completely. This announcement, unfortunately, means that Spider-Man can no longer appear in any films produced by Disney/Marvel Studios. Sony and Disney/Marvel Studios failed to reach an agreement on the rights to Spider-Man and how he would show up in any later installments of the Disney/Marvel Studios’s Spider-Man franchise or any films connected to the MCU.

Contract negotiations between Sony and Disney/Marvel Studios were re-opened earlier this year to discuss the film rights to Spider-Man, which prior to the recent issues, both studios have shared since 2015. The 2015 contract stated that Disney/Marvel Studios would receive only 5% of all film profits, but would receive 100% of all merchandise revenue.  However, the contract also stated that Sony would have complete creative control of all Spider-Man projects within the MCU.

In recent contract negotiations, Disney requested full creative control of all Spider-Man products including films, TV shows, toys, merchandise, etc. Sony refused, but they did have a counter-offer. The offer would have given Disney/Marvel Studios 35% of all creative control, an offer Disney/Marvel Studios now refused. The two studios were not able to reach an agreement before their deadline and as of August 20, Spider-Man has returned to Sony completely. Tom Holland will continue to play Spider-Man in Sony’s Spider-Man based franchise, which presently consists of 2018’s “Venom,” “Morbius” (which is currently in development), and the “Black Cat/Silver Sable” films. We can expect to see Tom Holland’s Spider-Man in the upcoming “Venom 2”, which will be directed by Andy Serkis, as well as the “Morbius” and the “Black Cat/Silver Sable” films.

But who is to blame for the MCU’s loss of Spider-Man? Is it Disney/Marvel Studios? Or perhaps Sony? Many people say that both companies are to blame, arguing that Disney is too greedy, but, at the same time, Sony is being selfish. It’s important to remember that even though we will not be seeing our friendly neighborhood Spider-Man in the MCU, we can look forward to seeing him appear in future Sony films.