Marvel and Sony have ended, at least for now, their production relationship for the Spider-Man films, according to Deadline. The change means that Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige will not continue as lead producer. The deal was struck back in 2015 (see "Spider-Man to Join Marvel Cinematic Universe") and had Spider-Man appearing in MCU movies and Feige taking a producer role on the Spider-Man films.
The breakdown was over money, according to the report: Marvel had asked to co-finance the next Spider-Man film with a 50/50 split of profits, and Sony refused. Marvel was getting 5% of gross, and owns the merchandising revenue.
With Feige’s help, the franchise hit a new high this week as Spider-Man: Far from Home became Sony’s highest-grossing film of all time (see "’Good Boys’ Ambush ‘Hobbs & Shaw’"). On the other hand, Sony made the hit Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse on its own.
The history of the relationship, although smooth recently, has had rough patches in the past; a series of lawsuits in the early 00s were finally settled in 2004 (see "Marvel and Sony Lawsuits Finally Settled").
Meanwhile to top off its receipts, Sony has announced plans for a theatrical re-release of Spider-Man: Far from Home with four new minutes over Labor Day weekend (beginning August 29), according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Feige Out as Producer
Posted by Milton Griepp on August 21, 2019 @ 9:11 am CT