Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige and Tom Holland addressed Spider-Man's inevitable exit from the Marvel Cinematic Universe following a breakdown in negotiations between Disney and Sony Pictures earlier this week. The two studios reportedly failed to reach an agreement over producer credits on future Spider-Man movies.
Feige and Holland both sat down with Entertainment Weekly during appearances at Disney's D23 Expo over the weekend to share their thoughts on the result of the Marvel-Sony rift: Spider-Man's inevitable exit from the MCU and what that means both for Marvel and for Holland's future playing the character. Both men were pragmatic about the still fresh, ostensibly tense situation. It was especially brutal to see Holland have to go on record with a comment mere days after the split and deal with the implications of the fallout happened considering he was part of the collateral damage.
Feige was diplomatic in his comments but it's hard to feel anything other than a sense of finality about the split, unlike folks like Jon Favreau who are holding out for a reconciliation between the studios so Spidey can return.
"I’m feeling about Spider-Man gratitude and joy. We got to make five films within the MCU with Spider-Man: two standalone films and three with the Avengers. It was a dream that I never thought would happen. It was never meant to last forever. We knew there was a finite amount of time that we’d be able to do this, and we told the story we wanted to tell, and I’ll always be thankful for that."
Holland reflected on his time working in the MCU, telling EW:
“Basically, we’ve made five great movies. It’s been five amazing years. I’ve had the time of my life. Who knows what the future holds? But all I know is that I’m going to continue playing Spider-Man and having the time of my life. It’s going to be so fun, however we choose to do it. The future for Spider-Man will be different, but it will be equally as awesome and amazing, and we’ll find new ways to make it even cooler."
An additional, albeit sentimental, twist of the knife into the Spider-Man fandom's heart when Holland addressed the crowd during the Onward presentation at D23. Towards the end of the presentation, Holland turned to the crowd and told them,
“It’s been a crazy week but I want you all to know from the bottom of my heart I love you 3000.”
Holland's remark recalls a memorable line from his now second-to-last MCU movie, Avengers: Endgame, said by Tony Stark's (Robert Downey Jr.) daughter, Morgan, as a way of showing how much she loves him. For fans, the line is no doubt deeply wrenching if only because it's a reminder Holland has to put on a brave face as he faces a transition period he was likely not ready for.
There are currently no announced plans for Spider-Man's future at Sony. It's similarly unclear what Holland's next professional move will be. Feige already has his sights set on the future, juggling all of the projects tied up in the MCU's Phase 4 and the soon-to-be-launched streaming service Disney+.
