In August, the controversial news broke that Sony and Marvel's agreement to share the Spider-Man character had come to a bitter end, meaning effectively that Spider-Man's arc in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) was over. The news came after the second Marvel Spider-Man movie, Spider-Man: Far From Home, ended on a cliffhanger that opened up major new avenues for the MCU to explore. It was also surprising given what an integral part of the MCU Tom Holland's Spider-Man had become since his debut in 2016's Captain America: Civil War. The bond between tech nerd Peter Parker and Tony Stark/Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) provided the emotional core of Avengers: Infinity War and, to a lesser extent, Avengers: Endgame.
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Now, despite this tangled web, it seems Tom Holland will swing again. Variety reports Marvel and Sony have announced they'll partner on a third Spider-Man movie to be produced by Marvel's Kevin Feige, due out July 2021. As with Spider-Man: Homecoming and Far From Home, Sony's Amy Pascal will also produce under Pascal Pictures.
Spider-Man is also slated to appear in a single, as-yet-unnamed MCU movie. In a statement, Kevin Feige shared his continued passion for the boy web-slinger:
I am thrilled that Spidey’s journey in the MCU will continue, and I and all of us at Marvel Studios are very excited that we get to keep working on it. Spider-Man is a powerful icon and hero whose story crosses all ages and audiences around the globe. He also happens to be the only hero with the superpower to cross cinematic universes, so as Sony continues to develop their own Spidey-verse you never know what surprises the future might hold.
Under the new arrangement, Variety reports that Disney and Marvel are rumored to receive around 25% of profits on the upcoming Spidey-movie.
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Studio politics aside, it should be gratifying for audiences to see Tom Holland complete his MCU arc as Peter Parker/Spider-Man. Of all the actors to bring Spider-Man to the big screen in live-action movies, Holland has always seemed to be having the most fun (yes, even including Toby Maguire's infamous dance in 2007's Spider-Man 3). Here's to, as J. Jonah Jameson would say, more pictures of Spider-Man!
Featured still from "Spider-Man: Far From Home" via Marvel Entertainment
