Update On Disney/Marvel And Sony’s “Spider-Man” Deal
Now that Disney/Marvel and Sony finally came to an agreement in regards to Spider-Man appearing in future Marvel Cinematic Universe movies, more information about the deal is making it’s way out. The following is what I was able to come up after researching all aspects of the deal:
- No money changed hands by either company. This deal is being used so that both companies mutually benefit. It will benefit Sony by giving Spider-Man more exposure from appearing in Marvel movies like “The Avengers.” It will benefit Disney by having Marvel’s most popular character, Spider-Man, in their most popular movie franchise.
- The final deal that Sony agreed to was to basically lease Spider-Man to Disney and in return Kevin Feige, head of Marvel, will co produce the new “Spider-Man” film scheduled to be released in 2017.
- Marvel will have full creative control and help write the script for the new “Spider-Man” movie but Sony has final approval of the script.
- Disney acquired Marvel in 2009 for $4 billion dollars. Since then they have been pursuing the “Spider-Man” movie rights from Sony for years offering billions of dollars for the franchise. Sony has rejected them every time.
- The “Amazing Spider-Man 2” grossed $708 million dollars worldwide. The production budget and marketing costs for the movie was close to $500 million dollars. If you take into consideration that usually 50% of ticket sales goes to the theater owners over the distribution period of the film, Sony incurred a loss of about $150 million dollars theatrically. “Guardians Of The Galaxy” grossed $774 million dollars worldwide. The production budget and marketing costs for the movie was close to $350 million dollars. Unlike Sony, Disney incurred a profit from “Guardians” theatrical release. Both companies had additional revenue through home video sales. What stands out is that Spider-Man is one of the most recognizable comic book characters and previously had a franchise consisting of 4 profitable movies going into the release of “Amazing Spider-Man 2.” Prior to “Guardian’s” release, barely any moviegoers ever heard of them and two of its main characters were a talking raccoon and a tree that said three words. I heard that the parent company of Sony was very much aware of this and not happy.
- Disney owns all of the merchandising rights to Spider-man, including movie merchandise, and having Spider-Man have more exposure in their movies will add to a big increase in Spider-Man related products. If Sony owned the merchandising rights to the “Spider-Man” movies, this deal between Disney/Marvel and Sony probably would not have happened.
- The studios are looking for a much younger actor than Andrew Garfield, age 31, to portray Spider-Man. They would like to go with an actual teenager.
- The story for the new “Spider-Man” movie will not be an origin story and will focus on Peter Parker being an awkward teenager by day and being Spider-Man at night. There will be less focus on his love life. All 5 previous “Spider-Man” movies focused on his love life and the studios want to go into a different direction.
- By Disney planning to include some of their Marvel characters in Sony’s “Spider-Man’s” movies some sources are saying that this is the first step in Disney acquiring the movie rights. Disney could also be positioning itself into purchasing Spider-Man’s movie rights in the future.
- The plan is for the new Spider-Man to appear in a Marvel movie “prior” to the release of the solo “Spider-man” movie in 2017. The movies prior to the new “Spider-Man” are:
- ”Avengers: Age Of Ultron” – Maybe. It’s possible as a post credit teaser.
- “Ant-Man” – Highly unlikely. I know, spiders and ants, but don’t see it happening.
- “Captain America: Civil War” – Highly likely. Marvel is scrambling to have Spider-Man in this movie before it goes into production. Apparently two scripts were written. One with Black Panther being a central figure, the other with Spider-Man.
- “Doctor Strange” – Mmmm, maybe. Doctor Strange is based in New York and so is Spider-Man. Plus Doctor Strange is a bit of a risk character with less people knowing who he is and the addition of Spider-Man could help the box office.
- “Guardians Of The Galaxy 2” – Nope. Unless it takes place on Earth.
Even though we are learning more about the “Spider-Man” deal, there probably is a lot that has yet to be revealed. The one thing that I feel most people have overlooked is Disney moving “Thor: Ragnarok” and other Phase 3 release dates to accommodate the opening of the new “Spider-Man” movie. Why would Disney do that? Sony will get 100% of the revenue and Disney will get nothing, except maybe a bump in Spider-Man merchandise revenue. This is either an act of goodwill on Disney’s part, or like what was mentioned, Disney is positioning itself to acquire the “Spider-Man” movie rights back. Disney had planned to release 3 Marvel movies in 2017 and with “Thor” moving to November of 2017 it resulted in “Black Panther” being pushed back to 2018. I think that is more than just goodwill on Disney’s part because they are sacrificing a whole movie that would add to Disney’s overall 2017 revenue. Disney is basically saying, “This is the movie that we want you to see before you see the rest of our Phase 3 movies.” Maybe I’m just an optimist but I think that move was a significant move on Disney’s part.
Definitely exciting times are ahead and expect news some news next month since “Captain America: Civil War” begins filming this April.
Actors Being Considered For The New “Spider-Man”
According to Variety, Sony is looking at actors Dylan O’Brien (“The Maze Runner”) and Logan Lerman (“Percy Jackson”) as potential candidates for the role of the new Spider-Man. Both actors are 23 years old. As previously mentioned, the studios want to go with a younger Peter Parker who is an awkward high school teenager by day and superhero at night. Sony is looking for a new director to replace Marc Webb, who directed “Amazing Spider-Man 1 and 2.”
The studio is also unsure if they will continue with Peter Parker or go with Miles Morales. In the comic “Ultimate Spider-Man,” Miles Morales is a young boy of African American and Hispanic decent who takes over the role of “Spider-Man” after Peter Parker dies (not much of a spoiler, this is comic is based in an alternative universe).
Variant Covers For Marvel Comics “Princess Leia #1”
If it is one thing that Marvel Comics can never have enough of, it’s variant covers.
When Princess Leia Organa was captured by the Empire as a Rebel spy, she never betrayed her convictions, even in the face of the complete destruction of her home world, Alderaan. When her rescue came, she grabbed a blaster and joined the fight, escaping back to the Rebel Alliance and helping strike the biggest blow against the Empire-the destruction of the Death Star. But in the aftermath of that victory, the question remains…what is a princess without a world? Follow Leia’s journey in the days following the end of “Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope” as she searches for answers…and for hope. Witness the beginnings of the journey that transforms a princess without a home into one of the greatest leaders in the fight for freedom across the galaxy! “Princess Leia #1” will be released on March 3rd, 2015.
Behold the latest variant covers for the continuing adventures of “Star Wars” very own “Princess Leia.”
More Promo Art For “Avengers: Age Of Ultron”
Here is some beautiful looking promo art poster from the upcoming movie, “Avengers: Age Of Ultron.”
Source: Jposters
That’s it for this week!
I just don’t see why Sony would ever give up rights the movie rights to Spider Man. I am glad to see that Spider Man will get to participate in the greater MCU, but I won’t deny it I would be much less excited about seeing a Miles Morales Spider Man versus a Peter Parker Spider man.
Hey Jared! If Sony had a choice, they would not give up the rights to Spider-Man but in the last few years, they have been in financial trouble. Sony got out of the computer and mobile phone business and almost all of their divisions are suffering, especially the film unit. There have been rumors for years that Sony may have to sell the film unit, and if they sell it, I’m sure Disney will come in and buy it. Plus that cyber attack that leaked personal information about clients did not help matters. It was also revealed recently that Amy Pascal, the head of Sony Pictures, didn’t resign, she was fired, or in a nicer way, asked to step down. The hack did significant damage to their reputation and the deal with Disney and Marvel created some positive feedback in the public’s eye that they really needed.
I agree with you about wanting to see Peter Parker instead of Miles Morales. I am sure that we will see Peter because even Bob Iger mentioned Peter by name in the press announcement. But there have been some people that feel that we have seen Peter Parker’s origin told twice already and feel that maybe they should go with Morales. The problem I have with this is that Morales got his powers from Peter’s blood and I really don’t want to see another Spider-Man origin story again, right now. If I had a choice over the ideas that Sony recently announced regarding the Spider-Man franchise, a Sinister Six spinoff, a Venom spinoff and and all female group from the Spider-Man universe, I would rather see a Miles Morales spinoff. Miles is a very popular character in the Marvel universe and I love his story and really like his costume too. And what I like most about him is that he is not a carbon copy of Peter, he has his own personality and his own story. I think if they bring Miles into the MCU, Peter should be a mentor first and would much rather see a movie like that. But I don’t want to see them rush things either. I also wish they weren’t going with a younger Spider-Man again. I would like to see him older, already established and working for the Bugle but I do agree that they need to shift the focus from his love life to more of it being about him struggling with issues by day and being Spider-Man by night. And I did like Andrew Garfiled a lot and wish they were keeping him, but on the other hand, am glad they are getting rid of the idea that every single Spider-Man villain is somehow developed by Oscorp.