Is it time to call Tom Holland a real-life superhero? It was August 20 when a very unique deal between Sony & Disney-Marvel over sharing Spider-Man reached a breaking point that made it seem the deal was 100% dead. Fans were in an uproar and it looked like Tom Holland and Spider-Man were out of the MCU and to only appear in Sony-fronted Spider-Man films.
As we know now, the two entities came to a new deal that resulted in Spider-Man staying in the MCU and an appearance in at least one more MCU property. We were all happy that the two sides kissed and made up but it looks like Spider-Man himself, Tom Holland, played a significant role in getting the two sides to come to terms.
Less than six weeks after the deal fell apart, Holland made multiple appeals to Disney chairman and CEO Bob Iger and Sony film chairman Tom Rothman to reach a resolution for Marvel to produce a third Spider-Man film for Sony, and for the character to appear in at least one additional Disney-Marvel film. It’s being reported that Holland began these talks after his appearance at the D23 Expo, shortly after the news dropped. Holland was there to promote the animated movie Onward and at the event, he thanked the fans for their continued support, without directly addressing the issue.
After the event, Holland leaned on Rothman to re-engage with Disney and reportedly he was able to leverage his clout because he’s also set to star in Sony’s Uncharted. It’s no coincidence that the day the new deal was announced, it was quickly followed by the news that Sony had found a new director for Uncharted and that the film was back on track.
Holland also reached out to Iger to return to the table on the deal as well. A thaw between the two entities began to happen when Holland also showed them the outpouring of fan support for them to maintain the deal that has allowed Spider-Man to appear in the MCU films. Once all these factors were in place, the new deal had something for everyone. Disney won a considerable stake in the new movie (25% of net gross which was up from the “mere” 5% they were receiving) and Sony doesn’t have to front the entire distribution and production budget fee since Disney will now chip in 25% on the budget of the new film, which is set to open July 16, 2021.
Sometimes an actor needs to know when to leverage their position and at 23, I’m sure Holland got advice from his peers (remember the Instagram posts of Holland and Robert Downey Jr. hanging out after the initial deal fell apart?). I’m sure while he publicly was game to continue as Spider-Man in Sony-fronted films, he was doing what he could to maintain a deal that has been a treat for fans and for the overall quality of the brand. Clearly not all heroes wear masks.
