It's the star-powered custody battle tearing Hollywood apart — and it's all over your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man.
On Tuesday, reports indicated that talks between Disney and Sony Pictures broke down, with neither party able to agree on future terms of their shared ownership of the character. As a result, Marvel Studios chief Kevin Feige will no longer produce additional films in the Spider-Man franchise, meaning Peter Parker's days in the Marvel Cinematic Universe are almost certainly over.
The studios' collaboration on the character was a unique one to begin with. When Disney acquired Marvel for $4 billion in 2009, it inherited a star-studded roster of iconic heroes — but Spider-Man stayed behind at Sony, the studio that helped shepherd the current superhero era into existence in 2002 with Toby McGuire's take on the web-slinger.
Things changed two sequels and one failed reboot later, when Disney ($DIS) and Sony ($SNE) agreed to share the rights to the radioactive teenager, allowing Spider-Man to appear in Feige's Marvel Cinematic Universe alongside The Avengers, in addition to standalone movies produced by Sony.
Negotiations reportedly collapsed when Disney insisted on a 50-50 stake in future Spider-Man movies, a far cry from the current deal giving Feige and company 5 percent of the series' first ticket gross and 100 percent of merchandising revenue.
That offer reportedly prompted Sony Pictures chief Tom Rothman to walk away from the bargaining table, leaving Peter Parker's fate solely in Sony's hands, signalling the end of Spider-Man's future in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Most audiences might not notice the change — Sony is reportedly already at work on two more sequels led by Spidey's most recent inhabitant, Tom Holland. The studio also owns the rights to other characters in the Spider-Verse, like Tom Hardy's "Venom" and Jared Leto's "Morbius," and has a trove of other highly-adaptable villains and storylines at its disposal.
But don't expect Holland to make any more appearances in Disney's Marvel films alongside tentpole characters Thor, Black Panther, or Captain Marvel as he exits the cinematic universe that was seemingly positioning him to take the reins in a post-Tony Stark future.
Even in a superhero landscape crowded with dozens of caped crusaders, Spider-Man stands out as one of the most valuable pieces of intellectual property in the pop-culture universe. This summer alone, the character helped fuel Disney's 'Avengers: Endgame' and its road to becoming the highest-grossing movie of all time, and then turned in Sony's most successful release ever, "Spider-Man: Far From Home," just a few months later.
In a year that's seen one billion-dollar win after another for Disney, Mickey Mouse finally lost a battle. That's not to say Spidey won't swing back to another studio in the future, especially given Hollywood's volatile past with the character. Sony is leaving the door open for a return; The Hollywood Reporter exclusively obtained a statement from the studio, expressing its disappointment in the split, adding that it hopes "things change in the future."
For now, though, one of showbiz's most lucrative and beloved protagonists is back at Sony — a massive coup, but one that begs that simple but ominous reminder: With great power comes great responsibility.
Nvidia on Wednesday became the first public company to reach a market capitalization of $5 trillion. The ravenous appetite for the Silicon Valley company’s chips is the main reason that the company’s stock price has increased so rapidly since early 2023.
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A big-screen adaptation of the anime “Chainsaw Man” has topped the North American box office, beating a Springsteen biopic and “Black Phone 2.” The movie earned $17.25 million in the U.S. and Canada this weekend. “Black Phone 2” fell to second place with $13 million. Two new releases, the rom-com “Regretting You” and “Springsteen — Deliver Me From Nowhere,” earned $12.85 million and $9.1 million, respectively. “Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc” is based on the manga series about a demon hunter. It's another win for Sony-owned Crunchyroll, which also released a “Demon Slayer” film last month that debuted to a record $70 million.
The Federal Aviation Administration says flights departing for Los Angeles International Airport were halted briefly due to a staffing shortage at a Southern California air traffic facility. The FAA issued a temporary ground stop at one of the world’s busiest airports on Sunday morning soon after U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy predicted that travelers would see more flights delayed as the nation’s air traffic controllers work without pay during the federal government shutdown. The hold on planes taking off for LAX lasted an hour and 45 minutes and didn't appear to cause continued problems. The FAA said staffing shortages also delayed planes headed to Washington, Chicago and Newark, New Jersey on Sunday.
Boeing workers at three Midwest plants where military aircraft and weapons are developed have voted to reject the company’s latest contract offer and to continue a strike that started almost three months ago. The strike by about 3,200 machinists at the plants in the Missouri cities of St. Louis and St. Charles, and in Mascoutah, Illinois, is smaller in scale than a walkout last year by 33,000 Boeing workers who assemble commercial jetliners. The president of the International Association of Machinists says Sunday's outcome shows Boeing hasn't adequately addressed wages and retirement benefits. Boeing says Sunday's vote was close with 51% of union members opposing the revised offer.
The stunning indictment that led to the arrest of more than 30 people — including Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier and other NBA figures — has drawn new scrutiny of the booming business of sports betting in the U.S. The multibillion-dollar industry has made it easy for sports fans — and even some players — to wager on everything from the outcome of games to that of a single play with just a few taps of a cellphone. But regulating the rapidly-growing industry has proven to be a challenge. Professional sports leagues’ own role in promoting gambling has also raised eyebrows.
Tesla, the car company run by Elon Musk, reported Wednesday that it sold more vehicles in the past three months after boycotts hit hard earlier this year, but profits still fell sharply. Third-quarter earnings fell to $1.4 billion, from $2.2 billion a year earlier. Excluding charges, per share profit of 50 cents came in below analysts' estimate. Tesla shares fell 3.5% in after-hours trading. Musk said the company's robotaxi service, which is available in Austin, Texas, and San Francisco, will roll out to as many as 10 other metro areas by the end of the year.
