If you’re a fan of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and lots of geek related stuff, you’ll know that the past month was a heart wrenching one as we heard that just as Spider-Man: Far From Home was leaving theaters, Spider-Man was also leaving the MCU as Sony and Disney failed to come to a deal about how to split the profits that the web slinger was raking in for them. Far From Home is the highest grossing Spider-Man film of all time, and also Sony’s highest grossing film, surpassing the 2012 James Bond film Skyfall. I’m sure you’ve probably heard the expression of “Trues art mimics reality” but within the past month, the reverse seemed to occur. I’m referring to the news of Spider-Man leaving the MCU of course.
Now how is the news of this mimicking the MCU timeline? Well, allow me to explain. If you’ve watched Avengers: Infinity War, then you’ll know that almost all the heroes in the MCU with the exception of the original 6 Avengers and a few other characters were turned to dust by the Mad Titan and beefed up California raisin, Thanos. Dozens of fan favourite heroes were vaporized by the purple brute, but none tugged at our heart strings more than Spider-Man, whose actor Tom Holland improvised his death scene, with his Spider Sense alerting him of the unavoidable tragedy that was going to take place. During the most emotional scene of the movie, Peter Parker clutches onto Tony Stark, uttering the unforgettable “Mr. Stark I don’t feel so good” begging for his mentor to help him, but there’s nothing they can do as Peter turns to dust.
A year later, we saw Spidey return in Avengers: Endgame, where we saw him swing back in with style, and it provided us with more emotional scenes, including a role reversal where Parker weeps while his mentor dies after sacrificing himself to save the universe from Thanos. Far From Home was the follow up film to end phase 3 in the MCU and focused heavily on the elements of Stark’s death in Endgame, but just as quickly as he had been brought back, around August 18th of this year, fans learned that the web-head would be dusted from the MCU yet again, but this time because of Sony and a lack of negotiation skills instead of Thanos and the Infinity Stones. Many speculated that Sony would try to integrate him into their Venom movies that star Tom Hardy, but many fans weren’t too savvy about Spidey meeting up with Venom, as we got that in Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 3, which is considered the worst of the Raimi trilogy, partially for over using too many villains instead of focusing on building the story of their main character. Weeks went by and fans had been desperately clinging on to whatever rumors sounded the most accurate, and that was until the chairman at Sony publicly came forward and stated that Spidey was done in the MCU.
Tom Holland and his fellow Spider-Man cast members were very silent on the matter, mainly because they were contractually obligated to continue with the films, regardless of who owned the film rights to the character. Stars in the MCU had a lot to say though. Jon Favreau who directed the Iron Man films and played Happy Hogan in the MCU said he was “cautiously optimistic” in an interview following the Disney+ streaming service preview of their exclusive Star Wars panel at the D23 expo, and the optimism certainly paid off. Robert Downey Jr took to twitter with some words to say, as did Ryan Reynolds and Jeremy Renner.
The news of Spidey’s return came out last week on September 27th, and fans have Spider-Man himself Tom Holland to thank, as he was able to convince Sony chairman and Disney’s Bob Iger and Kevin Feige to start talking again, and a deal was reached on Thursday evening of that week, with the news hitting the web on Friday. Finally, the stars of Spider-Man started to share some joy online with us, with MJ actress Zendaya posting a dancing Spider-Man GIF on her Twitter, but probably the best reaction was a bit of a NSFW from Tom Holland on Instagram, who posted a clip from the Wolf of Wall Street, with Leonardo DiCaprio’s character stating what was on Holland’s mind stating “I’M NOT F*CKING LEAVING!” Perhaps the second best reaction came from actor and former WWE wrestler Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, who commented on Holland’s Instagram post with a “F*ck yes.” Now that just leaves a few questions. For starters, the contract basically states that Disney has got another solo film with Spidey and one team up film, likely Avengers 5, but the solo film is set to hit cinemas in July of 2021, and that gives Marvel plenty of time to try and convince Sony to give him an extension in the MCU, and there are rumors stating that we could also see him in the Venom sequel as well, with Sony being granted permission to have Tom Holland’s Spider-Man in the film and subsequent movies, even if they are independent from the MCU.
One big question remains though. Who might the next villain be for Spidey? I’d guess Kraven the Hunter, and here’s why: At the end of Far From Home, Jake Gyllenhaal’s Mysterio name drops Parker and frames him as a murderer responsible for causing mass destruction and panic in London and killing Mysterio, something that JK Simmons’ J Jonah Jameson drives home in the post credits scene. With many people afraid of Spidey now, and his identity exposed, Kraven might try and track down Parker for a bounty, forcing Parker to hide in Wakanda, and teaming up with Black Panther along the way, something the comics have explored, and the MCU is quite faithful to the comic’s storylines. Jason Momoa from Game of Thrones would be an excellent choice to play Kraven, but that’s just my opinion. As for a name, Spider-Man Home Wrecked, Home Bound, Home Away from Home, or Hunted Out of Home or Running from Home. The point is, our friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man is back in his true neighbourhood, at least for a few years.