Fans worried that Spider-Man: No Way Home will mark the final team-up between Sony and Marvel need not worry.
Tom Rothman, the Chairman and CEO of Sony Pictures Entertainment's Motion Picture Group, spoke to ComicBook.com about No Way Home's premiere this week and the future of the web-slinger on the big screen. While the exact deal that Sony and Marvel Studios share has never been revealed, Rothman did confirm that at least one more appearance of Spider-Man in the MCU is guaranteed.
"It's reciprocal," Rothman said. "So we lend one, and they lend one, and that's how Benedict [Cumberbatch] is in this movie. So we have one more 'lend back' that's committed. But the thing that I can say, and this actually the accurate scoop on this, which is that the two companies have a terrific working relationship. I think it's a mutual hope that that would continue. But there really isn't anything definitive at this moment, because the truth of the matter is, we gotta ride [Spider-Man: No Way Home] and see what happens."
Though Rothman's statement makes it clear that Spidey will appear in one more MCU film, no further specifics are given. Tom Holland has played the role in three standalone films for Sony with Marvel Studios co-producing -- including No Way Home -- and three that were strictly for Marvel Studios (Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Infinity War, and Avengers: Endgame). As such, it would seem that the two companies are even. But with the complete details a mystery, it's hard to tell exactly what the "lend one" policy is.
What is clear is that Spidey is likely to show up in another MCU team-up film, with betting odds on the next Avengers movie. On the solo side, meanwhile, producer -- and former Sony exec -- Amy Pascal seems confident that Holland will continue to lead another trilogy of solo Spider-Man films for Sony. Though that hasn't been confirmed, all involved, including Rothman, seem confident in the continued collaboration between the two studios and their separate but connected superhero universes.
Spider-Man: No Way Home, featuring a team-up between Spidey and Doctor Strange and the appearance of multiple villains from prior Sony films, arrives Dec. 17 in theaters.
Source: ComicBook.com