Sony Pictures owns the exclusive film and live-action rights to roughly 900 characters from the Spider-Man franchise. While the studio cannot launch a competing live-action Spider-Man series as long as Marvel Studios remains involved in producing the MCU’s Spider-Man films.
According to insider John Campea, Marvel and Disney do not want competing live-action versions of Spider-Man while they remain involved in producing the character’s films. However, Sony could potentially launch its own live-action Spider-Man franchise if it ended its arrangement with Marvel Studios.
“But, as long as Marvel is producing live-action Spider-Man, Marvel and Disney don’t want there to be competing live-action Spider-Man…”
Campea says this is one reason Sony did not produce separate Tobey Maguire or Andrew Garfield Spider-Man movies between Spider-Man: No Way Home and Spider-Man: Brand New Day.
If the deal between Sony Pictures and Marvel Studios goes beyond simply allowing Spider-Man to appear in the MCU, Marvel could have access to other Sony-controlled Spider-Man characters for its own MCU projects. This could open the door for characters such as Kingpin, Norman Osborn, Kraven, and others to appear in MCU films. Norman Osborn could be introduced in the MCU without immediately becoming the Green Goblin.
Also, Kingpin could have a larger role in the MCU’s theatrical films beyond his appearances in Marvel’s television projects.
Vincent D’Onofrio has once again said that he is interested in having his Kingpin fight Spider-Man in an MCU movie.
D’Onofrio said, “If Sony and Marvel ever get their sh*t together, maybe. It’s a complicated rights issue. Hope so.”
In a recent interview with Happy Sad Confused, Spider-Man star Tom Holland revealed that Sony once planned to merge its Spider-Man spin-off universe with the MCU. He said the crossover idea “was on the cards” but never moved forward.
He said, “I think that they just never found the right time to do so. I think it was on the cards … But there was never any time where I was being forced into a movie I didn’t want to be in.”
Marvel and Sony’s Spider-Man: Brand New Day is now playing in theaters. The film has already crossed $1.67 billion at the worldwide box office in two weeks and is currently tracking to earn over $2.5 billion during its theatrical run. It will likely become the third-highest-grossing movie of all time.
