Spider-Man: No Way Home, the third Spider-Man film featuring Tom Holland, has just released around the world, and it appears the plans for the next installment are already in motion. And no wonder, for the film has finally revitalised the worldwide theatrical business that had been affected by the Covid-19 pandemic for close to two years.
Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige told The New York Times in an interview, “Amy and I and Disney and Sony are talking about — yes, we’re actively beginning to develop where the story heads next, which I only say outright because I don’t want fans to go through any separation trauma like what happened after Far From Home [the previous Spider-Man movie, in 2019]. That will not be occurring this time.”
Amy Pascal is the producer of the films along with Feige. The “separation trauma” he is referring to is the disagreement that took place in 2019 between Sony, which owns the screen rights of Spider-Man and supporting characters, and Disney-owned Marvel Studios over the profit-sharing structure of the movies.
Sony has held the rights to the Marvel character since 1985, but in 2015, the company announced with Disney and Marvel that it would allow Spider-Man to be used in MCU films like Spider-Man: Far From Home and Avengers: Endgame. The deal also allowed Feige to serve as a producer on stand-alone Spider-Man movies.
The studios later reconciled following fan outrage, though the exact nature of the new deal remains obscure. Sony has been developing its own MCU-independent universe based on supporting Spidey characters like Venom and Morbius, and fans eventually expect a group of supervillains called Sinister Six to clash with Spidey. Tom Holland will do at least one more trilogy of Spider-Man movies. Spider-Man 4 will mark the first time that a live-action version of Spidey returns for a fourth film.
Meanwhile, No Way Home is breaking box office records all over the world. It is expected to have the biggest theatrical opening worldwide after Avengers: Endgame, and that despite many cinemas running on reduced capacity.
