Disney and Sony Executives Address Future of Spider-Man, Call Partnership Classic Win-Win-Win

Superhero fans were rocked last year with the news that Spider-Man's tenure in the Marvel Cinematic Universe was cut short after the cliffhanger from Spider-Man: Far From Home, in which Peter Parker's identity was revealed to the world. Sony Pictures and Walt Disney Pictures could not come to terms on a feasible deal for both sides, so the partnership to keep Spidey with Marvel Studios ended up falling a part. But just a few weeks later, after intense reactions from fans who were not happy about the development, the two sides reached a new agreement.

Now that Spider-Man will be sticking around in the MCU for the time being, Sony Pictures executive Tim Rothman and Disney executive Alan Horn spoke out about the deal during a roundtable with the Hollywood Reporter, indicating that there was one key reason why they were able to come together to make a new deal happen.

"The fan base, which is important to all of us, seemed to really respond to what Tom and his folks have done before with our people," said Horn. "They like the fact that the Marvel Cinematic Universe and Kevin Feige were involved [in the two Spider-Man films]. We heard feedback out there that suggested that joining forces once again was probably really a good idea."

When asked if Disney and Sony will prolong the deal knowing that Sony has made successful Spider-Man movies without Marvel, Rothman skirted around the answer.

"Yes, we have. But I agree with my distinguished colleague. This was a classic win-win-win. A win for Sony, a win for Disney, a win for the fans," said Rothman. "The only thing I would say is that news cycles and the rhythm of negotiations do not necessarily overlap. And this is, in the words of Shakespeare, a consummation devoutly to be wished. We would have gotten there, and the news got ahead of some things."

There's no word yet on if Marvel and Sony's partnership will expand beyond the third Spider-Man movie, especially as we are still unclear about whether or not Sony's spinoff movies will actually be connected to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Some odd these answers should become more clear as we get closer to Morbius, the Jared Leto movie that has fans guessing over its status in the MCU continuity.

Morbius premieres in theaters on July 31st.