Tom Holland breaks silence about Spider-Man's future in MCU amidst Disney-Sony disagreement
Marvel boss Kevin Feige added that they knew "there was a finite amount of time that we'd be able to do this, and we told the story we wanted to tell".
Tom Holland is this generation's teenage Spider-Man in Spider-Man: Homecoming (Image: Movie still)
Spider-Man Tom Holland has finally opened up about beloved character’s future in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), following the news that Disney and Sony have failed to reach a deal on new films, according to Entertainment Weekly (EW).
Holland stopped by PEOPLE and EW’s studio backstage at Disney’s D23 Expo, where he addressed the news that Disney has no new plans to include Spider-Man in future MCU films.
“Basically, we’ve made five great movies,” Holland said in the interview with EW. “It’s been five amazing years. I’ve had the time of my life. Who knows what the future holds? But all I know is that I’m going to continue playing Spider-Man and having the time of my life. It’s going to be so fun, however we choose to do it. The future for Spider-Man will be different, but it will be equally as awesome and amazing, and we’ll find new ways to make it even cooler.”
Last week, news broke that Disney would be ending its partnership with Sony Pictures on the Spider-Man franchise, thanks to a disagreement over co-financing. Sony owns the film rights to the iconic superhero, and several years ago, the studios struck a deal: Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige would help produce Sony’s solo Spider-Man films, allowing Holland’s Spidey to appear in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, beginning with 2016’s Captain America: Civil War.Â
After the release of this summer’s Spider-Man: Far From Home (which has now become Sony’s highest-grossing film of all time with US$1.11 billion worldwide), Disney reportedly asked to share co-financing on future Spider-Man solo films, while Sony wanted the financing arrangement to remain the same as it had been.
Unless a deal can be reached, Holland will not appear in any future MCU movies (and no MCU characters will appear in Holland’s solo films). Feige will also no longer have a hand in producing the Spider-Man series with Sony, leading many to believe this was the end of Spidey -- or at least the end of Spider-Man in the MCU.Â
“It was never meant to last forever,” Feige told EW. “We knew there was a finite amount of time that we’d be able to do this, and we told the story we wanted to tell, and I’ll always be thankful for that.”
“I’m feeling about Spider-Man gratitude and joy,” Feige continued. “We got to make five films within the MCU with Spider-Man: two standalone films and three with the Avengers. It was a dream that I never thought would happen.Â
On Saturday morning (Aug 24), Holland was onstage at Disney's D23 Expo alongside Chris Pratt and Julia-Louis Dreyfus to promote their new Pixarmovie, Onward. Pratt and Holland play fantasy beings in the real world who set out on a magical quest in their van. The film's release date is 2020.
Before leaving the stage, he stopped to tell the audience, “Hey everyone, it’s been a crazy week but I want you all to know from the bottom of my heart that I love you 3000.”
