Bob Iger Explains How Tom Holland Saved Spider-Man in the Marvel-Sony Partnership
It looks like Tom Holland is getting used to saving the day.
After the reported split between Disney and Sony that would’ve separated the Spider-Man franchise from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Disney CEO Bob Iger explained that it was Holland, Spider-Man himself, who helped the two companies come to a deal again.
Iger was a guest on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” Thursday night talking about his new memoir “The Ride of a Lifetime,” and Jimmy Kimmel asked if it was true that Holland was responsible for getting Marvel and Sony to come together. Iger said that bringing Spider-Man back into the fold happened “miraculously,” and that Holland really was part of the conversation.
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“It was clear that the fans wanted Tom back as Spider-Man, made by Marvel and our Marvel production team,” Iger told the ABC late-night host. “It was clear that he cared so much, and we care about him. And he’s a great Spider-Man, isn’t he? I felt for him, and it was clear the fans wanted this to happen.”
Here’s how it went down. Holland was at Disney’s D23 event for a panel on the upcoming Pixar movie he stars in alongside Chris Pratt called “Onward.” At that event, Holland addressed the news of the split between Sony and Marvel by saying, “It’s been a long week … But I just want to let you all know … I love you 3000.”
What we didn’t see was that Holland then requested Iger’s contact information and got in touch with the Disney boss to see what could be done to patch things up. Iger even joked that Holland cried on the phone, which didn’t actually happen. But Iger then called the head of Sony and said “we’ve got to figure out a way to get this done.”
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“Like two divorced parents coming together and figuring it out,” Kimmel said. “Sometimes companies when they’re negotiating, or other people are negotiating, they forget there are other people who actually matter,” Iger responded.
It truly was a scary month or so there. In August, the Sony and Marvel partnership, which has resulted in the $880.2 million-grossing “Spider-Man: Homecoming” film and the $1.1 billion “Spider-Man: Far From Home,” ended. Marvel bailed on the arrangement over a dispute regarding the financing of future films, an insider told TheWrap at the time.
But that ended late last month, and the two additional Spider-Man films that are still in development, including the next one slated for release on July 16, 2021, are both set to star Tom Holland and be directed by Jon Watts. As part of the renewed agreement, Spider-Man will also appear in a future Marvel Studios film. Amy Pascal will also produce through Pascal Pictures, as she did on the first two films.
Watch Iger’s full clip above.
Read original story Bob Iger Explains How Tom Holland Saved Spider-Man in the Marvel-Sony Partnership (Video) At TheWrap
