Restrictions of Marvel and Sony’s Spider-Man Deal Revealed
There have been many questions as to how the Spider-Man deal between Marvel and Sony was handled, and what details were put in place to ensure one side’s control over certain parts of the properties. Gawker has apparently leaked part of the agreement deal, and it shows just how strict Sony is being in regards to the “characterization” of Spider-Man and Peter Parker. In case you were unaware, the deal (as we know it) goes like this:
– Marvel is allowed to use Spider-Man in their MCU films, which will start in Captain America: Civil War.
– Sony gets to make the solo films, and makes all profits based on these films and any property associated with it.
– Marvel gets to have a “creative team”, which includes Kevin Fiege, on the solo films to help “ensure quality” for the solo films.
– And, though not guaranteed, Marvel characters can be in the Sony solo Spider-Man films.
You can see this is a bit lopsided in some ways, and it’s about to get even weirder. It’s been confirmed that Peter Parker is going to be Spider-Man, and he should be for many reasons. However, as in all things with all characters, there’s room for interpretation, right? Well, not exactly in this deal because Sony laid out certain “musts” that have to be fulfilled. Here are the ones for Spider-Man:
And here are the ones for Peter Parker:
For those curious, this doesn’t apply to every Spider-Man ever made per se. For example, Miles Morales could be in the films, and a certain rule set would most likely apply to him, and thus “break” some of the agreed upon elements listed above for Spider-Man, most likely though it won’t based on who Miles is in the comics. What do you think about these “restrictions”? Do you think it’ll hurt the character? Or make it something more true to the comic origins of Peter Parker/Spider-Man?
The new cinematic version of Spider-Man will be introduced in Marvel’s Captain America: Civil War due out on May 6, 2016. The new Spider-Man movie is due out on July 28, 2017.