ArtsEntertainment Sony and Marvel battle for “Spider-Man” rights Page 8
The Georgetonian
By BECKY GRAY Copy Editor If you haven’t been living under a rock over the past few days, you have probably heard that the Sony and Marvel agreement which allowed Spider-Man to star in several Marvel Studios films fell through this past week and it has caused quite an upheaval in the realm of Marvel movies. The original agreement between Sony and Marvel guaranteed Marvel 5% of the first-day gross earnings of every standalone “Spider-Man” movie and all merchandising revenue, where Sony would maintain all other profits. However, before the previous contract’s closing date, Marvel expressed an interest in renegotiating the current deal.
“[A] 25% offer sat for half a year, and finally the conversation was the 50% [co-financing] stake, before [Marvel] called the whole thing off,” reported Deadline. While it is entirely logical for Marvel to want a larger portion of the profits of a franchise in which they have invested so many resources, it is also in the best interest of Sony to maintain the current deal as is, or at least to maintain the control that they previously had. “Spider-Man is Sony’s biggest property, so the studio has an extra incentive to maintain its control. Five ‘Spider-Man’ movies make up the [majority of the] studio’s top six highest-grossing domestic releases of all time,” reported Deadline. Seeing as Spider-Man has become such an integral member of the Sony
franchise and has often been referred to as one of the most marketable superheroes of all time, few people are blaming Sony for refusing to relinquish as much control as Marvel would have desired. Despite the lack of blame, there is still the question of Spider-Man’s fate. “‘Spider-Man: Far From Home’ had positioned Peter Parker as the embodiment of Tony Stark’s legacy,” claimed ScreenRant. Not only did the latest Spider-Man movie imply that Peter Parker would be taking on a much more critical role as Stark’s successor, but it also ended the movie with the reveal of his secret identity. Spider-Man was also framed for the crimes committed throughout the movie. This ending all but guaranteed fans another film starring their favorite web-slinger, although the
future of Spider-Man seems to be much more uncertain in this current climate. Sony maintains the position that they wish to continue the current Spider-Man storyline, but whether or not they will be able to achieve the same success without the support of Marvel remains unknown.
Source: flickr.com
Spider-Man, Sony’s biggest property
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