According to an “inside source” report over at Entertainment Weekly, apparently talks to share the use of Spider-Man in films between Sony and Marvel are now underway. While apparently both sides confirm that Spider-Man will not be joining the Avengers anytime soon (probably because Marvel already has the next five years of films planned while Sony is working on at least three), it is apparently a possibility that we could see some kind of crossover or synergy from the two in the next few years.
Entertainment Weekly lays down a few facts to go along with all of this as well. For one, Sony has to make a Spider-Man-based film every three years or they lose the license (like they did for both Daredevil and Ghost Rider), yet they’re still largely uninterested in sharing. 2016’s plans for Sinister Six aren’t changed in any way, but a potential flop of the film could apparently change the minds of those at Sony who are resistent to an agreement — but that’s two years from now. And EW emphasizes that while Marvel wants Spidey, they don’t even need him because they’re so successful everywhere else, and with their schedulede packed the way it is you wouldn’t really see Spidey in a Marvel film until 2020 anyway.
The emphasis being: don’t get your hopes up. And if you do, don’t expect quick results. Additionally, while it’s not listed in EW’s article, it is also probably worth noting that Drew Goddard was with Marvel to help work on their TV-side. Goddard was supposed to helm the Daredevil show, a property which Sony lost, before leaving Marvel to work for Sony on the Spider-Films. Goddard has still written the first two episodes and consults with Marvel, so it’s easy to see how a bridge was built.
All that said, honestly, you kind of hear stuff like this all the time. It makes sense; superheroes are so in right now, so why not share the wealth? (The answer to that question is obvious.) But whether or not it pans out to something tangible is another story entirely.
Spider-Man is — was? — a profitable character. Even if the second of Sony’s Amazing Spider-Man films didn’t fly at the box office in the same way Marvel films do, that type of character will always pull in a crowd. With Drew Goddard on tap to help expand the Spider-Man cinematic universe with a Secret Six and Venom films on the way, there’s no doubt that there’s money to be made with the character yet. They may not make films that critics and fans celebrate, but they create films that people still go to see — even if the crowds are smaller. But the film still made over $700 million at the box office from a $200 million budget, so no one at Sony is freaking out and selling their yachts just yet.
However, as most people will probably note, it’s not just about creating a shared cinematic universe, but about creating good movies. And while some will be quick to object and say no, the point is to make money, I’ll just casually note that Guardians of the Galaxy is the top grossing film of the year, and not just because it is part of a shared universe and not just because it is a superhero film and those do really well. No, Guardians did well because it was a good movie, and that spread like wildfire. You make money with a good product, not just by putting something out; you may get the bucks of some die hard fans who just have to see the new Spider-Man movie anyway, but Amazing Spider-Man 2 earned nearly $60 million less than its predecessor — and while that may not seem like a lot in the grand scheme of things, it’s not a great sign.
And, again, Marvel doesn’t need him for their movies. Sony does. And that’s a huge part of the equation in any talks that could happen; no matter what olive branch Marvel could offer, they could move on and not worry about it. Could Marvel do great things with the character? Probably; their in-house cartoons are fairly popular, if not as profitable as a film franchise. But could they exist without him? They can. They have. They will!
So Marvel courting Sony for Spider-Man back in some way is not unexpected, nor is Sony’s repeated reluctance to share him (this is not, after all, the first time we’ve heard this rumor). Sinister Six will ostensibly be the make-or-break in this deal. But should something new pan out, like Entertainment Weekly suggests, it could end up with some interesting changes to roll-out in the films over the next few years. It’s also debatable as to whether the Spider-Man that Andrew Garfield plays would be shared between the two universes or if Marvel would have their own iteration of Spidey (like how Fox and Marvel both have Quicksilvers and Scarlet Witches), but lets not get too far ahead of ourselves. One corporate-crossover baby step at a time.
