A couple of years ago, we were all put through the wringer when it looked like Sony Pictures and Marvel Studios had parted ways and would no longer share the cinematic rights to Spider-Man. Fans weren't happy with the prospect of the web-slinger being handled solely by Sony, and the outcry online was so vocal that a new deal was eventually struck between the two parties.
As a result, Spider-Man: No Way Home was developed by both studios, while Tom Holland's Peter Parker will also make at least one more appearance in an upcoming Marvel Studios project.
Talking to Rotten Tomatoes, Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige admitted that "it was an emotional few months for, I think, all of us on all sides," referring to when it looked like Spidey would leave the MCU. "Luckily, Tom Rothman, and [then-Disney CEO] Bob Iger, and [Disney Studios Chairman] Alan Horn, and [then-Walt Disney Studios President] Alan Bergman, and Tom Holland all realized, 'Wouldn't it just be more fun if we just kept doing it? Let's not get business or politics in the way.'"
"Because the deal always started with Amy Pascal and I having nothing to do with numbers, or contracts, or politics. It had to do with story, and a love of Spider-Man and Peter Parker and the Marvel universe. It thankfully has continued like that, and that's where we find ourselves now."
In the same interview, Feige was asked about the possibility of Venom crossing over with the MCU's Spider-Man. Despite the mixed response to the former's 2018 movie, that's something fans desperately want to see become a reality, and it is thought that Sony has plans for Holland's Peter Parker in the SPUMC (meaning he could swing between worlds or portray two versions of the same character).
"I obviously don't want to talk about rumors or speculation on what could happen or what couldn't happen as it relates to any characters Marvel Studios hasn't brought to the screen yet," he teased. "But I will say what I've always said, having been at Marvel for 20 years I wouldn't dismiss anything, I wouldn't rule anything out. When and how and where remains to be seen. It could be, you know any rumor you read online could happen anytime between now and never."
Spider-Man: No Way Home promises to better establish the web-slinger's place in the MCU and beyond, though we're obviously still waiting for a first look at the highly anticipated threequel.