Sony Blames Marvel and Kevin Feige for Spider-Man Split in Official Tweets

Who killed Spider-Man? Or, more specifically, who killed the delicate agreement between Sony and Marvel Studios to bring Peter Parker into the Marvel Cinematic Universe? According to a series of tweets from Sony Pictures, the answer is Marvel, Disney, Kevin Feige, and the X-Men.

In a series of tweets shared at 12:49 a.m. on Tuesday, August 21, Sony Pictures attempted to clarify the whirlwind of reports and rumors that rocked the entertainment industry and Marvel movie fandoms on Monday afternoon. The statement begins by categorizing much of the reporting as inaccurate before ultimately pinning the blame on Marvel.

Here’s the full statement, via @SonyPictures on Twitter:

Much of today’s news about Spider-Man has mischaracterized recent discussions about Kevin Feige’s involvement in the franchise. We are disappointed, but respect Disney’s decision not to have him continue as a lead producer of our next live action Spider-Man film.

We hope this might change in the future, but understand that the many new responsibilities that Disney has given him – including all their newly added Marvel properties – do not allow time for him to work on IP they do not own.

Kevin is terrific and we are grateful for his help and guidance and appreciate the path he has helped put us on, which we will continue.

There’s a lot to unpack here, but the big takeaway seems to be that, at least for now, Tom Holland’s Spider-Man is no longer in the MCU. That means no cameos in Marvel’s new movies and no new Avengers team featuring Spidey in a leading role. However, Sony does leave the door open for reconciliation, writing, “We hope this might change in the future.” So at least there’s some hope.

Even more interesting is the implication that Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige pulled his involvement from the Spider-Man movie because he’s too busy shepherding the rest of the Marvel movies, including the new properties the studio acquired from in the Disney/Fox merger like the X-Men, Deadpool, and the Fantastic Four.

Without Feige’s involvement, it seems future Spider-Man movies won’t be allowed to take place in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but does that mean Spidey can’t show up in future Marvel movies that Feige does produce?

We won’t know for sure until Marvel/Disney offers an official statement of its own. And, you know, something a little longer than three tweets from Sony would be nice too. At the very least, you can probably expect spoiler-machine Tom Holland to spill the beans before too long.