Although Sony’s high-profile Spider-Man deal never made it off the table, it looks as though Marvel was keen to get complete creative control… and get rid of Andrew Garfield.
According to the Latino Review, the rival studios were deep in discussions over a proposed 60/40 deal for the rights to Spider-Man. But it seems Marvel had some pretty big demands.
“The 60/40 split still looks to be the divide with Sony handling distribution,” they explain. “However, Marvel’s not inclined to give Sony creative control over the character, nor [are they] planning on honoring the contracts with Sony’s Spider-Stars.”
That’s right – Marvel wanted to get rid of Andrew Garfield… and presumably, everyone else involved in ‘The Amazing Spider-Man’ franchise. Of course, that includes Emma Stone and even Dane DeHaan.
But would that really be the right thing to do?
Essentially, if a deal ever does goes ahead between Marvel and Sony for those Spider-Man rights, Marvel Studios wants an entirely clean slate. Of course, it makes a lot of sense from their point of view. Considering the recent missteps of the Amazing Spider-Man franchise, it would be a lot of work to put things right… correcting the mistakes of another studio as they take control of their own intellectual property.
Instead, it looks as though they’d rather draw a line under everything Sony has done with the character… and if you ask me, that’s a very sensible approach.
“More poking into the origins of the Aunt May solo film and Female Spider movie rumors revealed that these were actual Sony Picture Entertainment plans that Marvel knew about and severely disliked.”
But it’s the main franchise that’s the most troubling… especially considering that they’d be lumbered with the creative decisions of another studio.
For example, the fate of Gwen Stacy in The Amazing Spider-Man 2 might not mesh with the direction Marvel intends for their own Spider-Man. After all, the death of a loved-one is something that would affect him in profound ways.
And that’s not necessarily something that Marvel would want to delve into, especially if they’re planning for a more light-hearted web-slinger.
But will any of this happen?
Unfortunately, it looks as though discussions between Marvel and Sony have completely broken down… and Marvel have no doubt planned around this. Sure, it would have been awesome to see Spider-Man in the upcoming Civil War but it looks as though that’s not going to happen.
Could it happen again in the future? For now, we’ll have to wait and see… but if Spider-Man spin-offs are they best Sony has to offer, perhaps they should rethink that Marvel deal.
What do you think of Marvel’s demands? Should Sony relinquish Spider-Man rights to Marvel Studios? Let us know what you think in the comments below…
