ABC/Lou Rocco(NEW YORK) — Weeks after the spat between Sony and Disney-owned Marvel Studios left their Spider-Man partnership “100 percent dead,” the deal is now back on. Fans rejoiced, and one of those celebrating is writer-director, comic book writer, and overall comic geek Kevin Smith.
“Good Lord. I mean, what a week that was,” Smith recalled to ABC Audio. “Thank God it was very quick — it seemed like the end of the universe. Literally, the end of the Marvel Universe.”
The deal would have meant Spider-Man, played by Tom Holland, would have all but been deleted from the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
And, as previously reported, The Hollywood Reporter says it was Holland himself who helped bridge the gap between Disney chairman and CEO Bob Iger and Sony film chairman Tom Rothman. But something else was also at play: fan outrage.
“I’d like to think that was because the audience — we were so vocal. Like NO!!” Smith shouts. “And so, two corporate giants are like, ‘Fine, we’ll work together again.'”
Indeed, the September 27 deal will have the studios collaborate on one more solo Spider-Man movie, and the characger will appear in at least one additional Disney-Marvel film, though more are not out of the question.
“We all want to see that story continue — it has gone in such a great way,” Smith explains. “We love Peter Parker being involved in the Marvel Cinematic Universe even though he’s a technically a Sony property. So it’s nice that corporate titans can get along and we can get some movies we want to see.”
In 2002, Smith wrote the Spider-Man/Black Cat comic book series.
Marvel is owned by Disney, the parent company of ABC News.
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