Kevin Feige is stepping to clarify the current situation with Sony and the Marvel Cinematic Universe - a deal that only includes Spider-Man and his franchise, for now. Earlier this week, Amy Pascal sent shockwaves across the internet by discussing how Venom and Silver & Black are adjuncts to the MCU. The statement comes right as Sony and Marvel Studios are about to launch Spider-Man: Homecoming in theaters - with early reactions glowing so far. However, Pascal's comments appeared to come out of nowhere, shocking Feige and turning him into a meme online.
Unsurprisingly, in the days that followed everyone has been left wondering whether or not Pascal was correct in this statement, and if so what it means for both studios. Well, Feige is ready to stop those thoughts and keep the universes separate.
JoBlo spoke to Feige as part of the press junket for Homecoming following the early screenings that spawned the aforementioned good reactions. He was asked directly what the current state of the Sony deal is and whether or not it has expanded in secret to include the multiple spinoffs/standalones that Sony is planning. Turns out, it hasn't:
Right now, Spidey is in the MCU and it's just Spidey. Civil War, Homecoming, we've already shot a lot of Tom Holland's scenes in the upcoming Avengers films, and we're just starting to solidify our plans for Homecoming 2 - we won't call it that, whatever it is - which is exciting because it'll be the first MCU movie after untitled Avengers in 2019. It'll be the way Civil War informed everything in Homecoming, those movies will launch him off into a very new cinematic universe at that point. Those five movies are we're focusing on.
Even though Feige spends much of this quote discussing their future plans for Tom Holland's Spider-Man, the key point of the quote comes right at the start. Feige has consistently tried to keep an open mind in his responses to questions about Sony's films, a deal with Fox, or a DC crossover, so him saying they are separate "right now" may not be that big of a deal. But, it also highlights a willingness to change should the opportunity present itself - and if Sony can prove them to be capable of making a solid Venom film next year with Tom Hardy.
Feige went on to say in the interview that he thinks Sony's approach to Venom has been very smart by focusing on making a good movie first, something he says will only be easier with Hardy in the lead. What the "right now" could ultimately indicate is the studios have discussed the idea, but maybe Marvel Studios and Feige have contingencies in place. Holland doesn't expect to appear in the Sony spinoffs, but if Feige sees how the project is progressing, maybe he would allow for Holland or other MCU characters to appear, or at the very least for connections to be made.
For now, it appears fans should operate under the mindset that Spider-Man is the only Sony franchise that exists within the MCU. This could change in the weeks, months, or years to come, but doesn't appear to be in the cards right now. Instead, Sony will make their films outside of the MCU, but maybe keep the scale small to retroactively make it MCU canon later on if desired, while Marvel Studios pushes Spidey further into the forefront of the MCU.
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Source: JoBlo
