It has been almost a week since we learned our favorite webslinger was on his way out of the MCU. Most people had instant outrage reactions typical of 2019 ranging from gathering online to plan protests to the massive #BoycottSony movement via twitter. I divided my time as wisely as ever: failing at thinking of a pun quoting “Spiderwebs” by No Doubt (I mean the pieces are there…”Sony I’m not home right now, I’m trying to get that Spiderman, so leave a paycheck and I’ll call you back” was the best I came up with), and by hypothesizing what this means for the MCU and Spiderman. I mean if we base this off of the time we spent going from Phase 1 to Phase 3 this could impact at least 11 years worth of movies. So what does this mean? Let’s dive deep into the world of hypothesis and speculation.

What does this mean for Marvel? I guess Spoiler alert if you’re not caught up on Marvel movies…

Now, I’ve seen almost every Marvel movie multiple times (not this one) and patterns are fairly evident. The key to Marvel’s intertwined universe are characters we love carrying their own awesome movies and popping up from time in other movies. Throughout most of the first 3 phases we got to see Tony Stark, Steve Rogers, and Nick Fury act as these figures tying things together. After the deaths Endgame shattered us with, Marvel signaled a change in its paragons. If there was one thing completely telegraphed to us, it was the importance of Spiderman to the MCU. I have a long running tradition of showing Marvel Trailers in my classes (how did I not win teacher of the year?), and when he made his debut the Civil War trailer we all lost our minds. After he got dusted in Endgame, no one would stop talking about Spiderman’s demise. Multiple people cried over the death of a superhero. A teenager bit by a radioactive spider who turned into dust after a purple space guy snapped his bejeweled glove elicited emotional response from the masses. While you’re thinking about the ridiculousness of reality, think about the overarching message of Spiderman: Far From Home. Peter Parker is the new Tony Stark. That was mentioned multiple times throughout the movie. Marvel let Sony know that Spidey was going to be the new connecting web (ha pun) for the MCU, so it only makes sense that Sony will try to get more money for him.

What does this mean for Sony?

When I was a kid, there was this Saturday morning phenomenon in which I watched X-Men the Animated Series, Spider-Man, The Silver Surfer, and Ironman cartoons (who needs friends with TV like that). My favorite memory of this was a crossover arc, in which Spidey, Ironman, and Venom teamed up to stop Carnage. This is within the realm of possibility, sans Tony Stark RIP, if Sony plays their cards right. Sony is also channeling their inner Logan Roy and playing this smart in the sense that they are cashing in on Marvel’s golden goose. As far as superhero movies go, our wall-crawling web-slinger has appeared in 11 of the top 30 all-time highest grossing films of the genre, and if you want to throw in Venom like Sony does, we can make that 12. Sony knows that if a Spiderman movie is released people will see it. Instead of one Spiderman movie every 5 years, we may get one every summer until Tom Holland decides to move onto bigger and better things like Tobey MaGuire and Andrew Garfield did…oh wait…

So what does this all mean?

At the end of the day this seems to be more of an example of 2019 outrage culture than anything else. What has surprised me is the way Spiderman dominates the teenage zeitgeist. Most of my students over the last few years wouldn’t hesitate to say Spiderman is the most important, most loved, and favorite Marvel character. People my age debate about Team Cap or Team Ironman (Ironman is correct btw), but to my students there’s just no debate. Sony knows this, and they are probably just playing hardball to make more money. Tom Holland is still under contract to make a few more Spidermen, so we won’t have a recast any time soon. The only real issue we’ll have is whether or not we’ll have Spiderman pop up for two minutes in the next Captain Marvel or if we’ll have a series of Spiderman vs Venom movies. Regardless, there’s only one reaction I’ll have…