Sony Pictures has reached a deal with Disney for Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige to produce a third “Spider-Man” film with the studio, it announced on Friday morning.
“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,” Feige said in a statement. “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.”
In August, the Sony and Marvel partnership, which has resulted in the $880.2 million-grossing “Spider-Man: Homecoming” film and the $1.1 billion “Spider-Man: Far From Home,” ended. Marvel bailed on the arrangement over a dispute regarding the financing of future films, an insider told TheWrap at the time.
There are still two additional “Spider-Man” films in development with star Tom Holland and director John Watts attached. The next film is scheduled for release on July 16, 2021. As part of the renewed agreement, Spider-Man will also appear in a future Marvel Studios film. Amy Pascal will also produce through Pascal Pictures, as she did on the first two films.
“This is terrific. Peter Parker’s story took a dramatic turn in Far From Home and I could not be happier we will all be working together as we see where his journey goes,” Pascal said. “This has been a winning partnership for the studios, the franchise and the fans and I’m overjoyed it will continue.”
Spider-Man is one of Marvel’s most beloved characters and most lucrative assets. Marvel sold the Spider-Man film rights to Sony in 1999. Marvel was struggling at the time, having filed for bankruptcy in 1996.
After a Tobey Maguire trilogy and a couple of Spider-Man films starring Andrew Garfield, Marvel and Sony agreed on a partnership to bring Spider-Man into the MCU. Holland first appeared as the wall-crawler in 2016’s “Captain America: Civil War,” and has now been positioned to take Tony Stark’s place as the tech genius at the center of The Avengers.