Avengers: Endgame directors aren’t surprised by Spider-Man’s MCU exit
By Erik Swann
Avengers: Endgame directors Joe and Anthony Russo weren’t shocked when Marvel and Sony failed to reach a new deal for Spider-Man.
Fans are still reeling from Spider-Man’s abrupt departure from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, mostly out of pure shock that Marvel and Sony couldn’t reach a new deal. However, some people, like Avengers Endgame’s Joe and Anthony Russo weren’t as stunned when the story first broke.
While speaking with The Daily Beast, the two directors admitted that they weren’t too stunned upon hearing the news of Spider-Man’s MCU exit. Anthony recalled how passionate they both were about bringing the character into the fold in the first place:
"“We were extremely passionate about it. This is something we really wanted to happen, and fought a long time internally at Marvel to make it happen.”"
Joe continued by explaining just how difficult it was to get both Marvel Studios and Sony to sit down and come to an initial agreement on the character:
"“It wasn’t easy. Kevin [Feige] went through a lot. There were a lot of ups and downs, and he kept walking into our office and we’d go, ‘Look, we’ve got to do it with [Sony],’ and he’d go, ‘OK, I’ll figure it out,’ and walk back into his. He was looking for the way out. He wanted to open that door and have us go, ‘We figured it out! We don’t need Spider-Man!’ because it’s a lot of work to get two major corporations to play nice with each other, and the fact that it happened at all, we should all be dancing and celebrating that we got that little bit of time.”"
Given all of this, the two weren’t taken aback when the learned that Spider-Man would be returning to Sony for the foreseeable future, as Anthony points out:
"“I think that’s why Joe and I are not so devastated or surprised that there’s been a falling-out, because it was so hard to make it happen in the first place.”"
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Some may not remember that the Spider-Man agreement between Marvel and Sony was initially leaked during the hack of Sony Pictures in the fall of 2014. The information not only revealed the two studios were at the negotiating table, but it also divulged emails sent between then-Sony Pictures Entertainment Co-Chairperson Amy Pascal and different head officials at Marvel Studios. In the years that have followed, more details have been disclosed about the long and tedious nature of the negotiations.
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Based on what’s been reported, especially after the split, it’s difficult not to agree with the Russos. Marvel and Sony’s agreement was an unprecedented move between two massive entities in the film industry. The fact that the deal happened was nothing short of a miracle in the eyes of industry analysts. A renewal, which seemed likely, would have been an even greater feat.