Spider-Man: Brand New Day made box office history this past weekend, and all eyes are now on what's next for the franchise. Spider-Man 5 has not been officially announced, and while it seems inevitable, we have no idea what Tom Holland's contract looks like.
Sony Pictures will almost certainly give the actor whatever he wants to return as Peter Parker, and in a new interview with Variety, studio CEO Tom Rothman responded to a question about not letting Holland go after an historic opening.
"I love these questions. It’s like when a coach wins the Super Bowl, and he goes to the press conference, and they say to him, 'Are you going to win it next year?' The honest truth is we don’t know at this point," he claimed. "This has been the focus of our studio for almost two years. I can tell you this: I certainly, certainly hope. I heard Tom say at some point that he wanted to continue, and we would love it if he did."
The trade continued to push, and asked Rothman to confirm that there is a world where we get a Spider-Man sequel starring Holland. To that, he replied simply, "Yes," before reflecting on the movie's huge debut.
"What happened is miraculous. 'Spider-Man' is uniting people across cultures and ages. People can piss on theatrical all they want, but that’s one thing that only movies — and movie theaters — can do."
"Superhero movies have to feel fresh. The glut of all those movies has made it even more important that they separate themselves in terms of quality," Rothman then said of supposed superhero fatigue. "If you’re just taking the obligatory steps, the audience is less excited. You have to work against predictability. How do you make movies not feel repetitive? 'Brand New Day' is emotionally led, so it feels different."
Spider-Man: Brand New Day was developed hand-in-hand with Marvel Studios. However, the studio's various "spin-offs" (they were more like standalone tales that kinda, sorta connected) have not resonated in the same way. The Venom movies found some success, though each instalment grossed less than its predecessor.
The likes of Morbius, Madame Web, and Kraven the Hunter all bombed, and none of Sony's Marvel projects received overly positive reviews.
Asked why they didn't work, Rothman acknowledged, "Ultimately, the audience wasn’t satisfied enough with them. Whether that’s a fair assessment of those movies, who knows. That’s howling into the wind. The audience is the boss, and they didn’t respond. It’s as simple as that."
"Right now, we don’t know. We never looked at it as the 'Sony-Marvel Universe.' We looked at if there were worthwhile movies to make with other characters. At the moment, there are none in active development," he concluded, confirming that projects like El Muerto, Agent Venom, Sinister Six, and Silver Sable are, fortunately, not happening.
Hopefully, Rothman will realise that the biggest difference between Marvel Studios' Spider-Man movies and Sony's spin-off efforts is Avi Arad. He oversaw flops like Morbius and Kraven the Hunter, and was heavily involved from a creative standpoint. However, he's been completely hands-off with the web-slinger, and the difference in quality is staggering.
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