For fans of Marvel’s web-swinging
Friendly Neighborhood superhero, the latter half of the year must have felt
like a close shave where the Marvel Cinematic Universe was concerned. Mere
weeks after the successful release of “Spider-Man: Far from Home,” Marvel
Studios and Spider-Man film rights holder Sony Pictures had a deal
re-negotiation that fell apart, potentially banning the wall-crawler from
further MCU appearances and solo films. Spider-Man’s portrayer, British actor
Tom Holland, was saddened by the news and told the press so. Then the following
month Marvel and Sony inked a new agreement to maintain MCU Spidey. Just how
much did Holland’s sentiments influence this?
If coming from Tom Holland’s own
words recently, then probably a lot according to E! News Online. The aged
23 British actor relates on yet another “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” on ABC Wednesday,
December 4, that a phone call he received from Bob Iger, CEO of Disney which is
parent company to Marvel Studios, might have led to a dialing down of new terms
between them and Sony which scuttled the original sharing agreement that led to
“Captain America: Civil War,” “Spider-Man: Homecoming,” “Avengers: Infinity War”
and “Endgame,” and “Far from Home.” But in Holland’s own words, he had a few
drinks while talking to Iger.
Tom relates how he and his family
back in the UK went to a local pub and, after he has had three pints down, got
a call that he surmised was from Disney’s Iger. After considering his
intoxication level, Holland remarked, "You don't give Bob Iger, like, a
schedule. You're like, ‘Whenever, Bob.'" The actor was already aware of
the Marvel-Sony breakdown, and thanked Iger on the call for his opportunity to
play the role. The Disney boss then replied that they hoped to make the deal
work again. After contacting Sony Pictures chair Tim Rothman and discussing
Holland’s call, a new arrangement was forged.
When Marvel sold the film rights
to several of its major superheroes since the 1990s, Sony got Spider-Man, which
led to the films starring Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield. When Marvel, later
acquired by Disney, began building the MCU film franchise, it became a dream to
be able to feature Spider-Man in the setting, which normally would require Sony
to revert the rights.
The two companies instead worked
out a deal that had Marvel Studios produce, with distribution dependent on if
it was Spider-Man solo (Sony) or part of an MCU event (Marvel), with Sony
getting full revenue out of “Homecoming” and “Far from Home.” The earlier
disagreement was due to Disney proposing that box-office earnings of future
Spider-Man solo movies now be split rather than go fully to Sony.
Interestingly, Bob Iger himself
lent credence to Tom Holland’s story about “saving” MCU Spider-Man, which he
related in a previous appearance on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!”
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