Murphy saw things very clearly: Spider-Man was Sony Columbia Pictures' lifeline. Time and again, Peter Parker had pulled the declining studio back from the brink, but ultimately, there would be a time when he couldn't save them anymore—like with "The Amazing Spider-Man 2."
So what should be done now? Even with his toes, Murphy could figure out that Sony Columbia Pictures wanted to bring Spider-Man back home!
Marvel's method is endlessly beneficial!
Nowadays, superhero movies dominated the box office, and the ones that sold well mostly came from the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Bringing Spider-Man back home, to his birthplace, would undoubtedly revitalize him with the boundless appeal of Marvel's method.
The information Murphy had gathered from inside Sony Columbia Pictures confirmed that they indeed had such plans.
Thinking back to the 1980s and 90s, Marvel Comics had not yet developed into the powerful film studio it is today, holding complete production rights. They had to sell off their comic rights to venture into film. One of their most popular superheroes, Spider-Man, had his first TV movie made by Columbia Pictures and MGM in 1977.
Twenty-two years later, Sony Entertainment's subsidiary, Columbia Pictures, secured all the film rights to Spider-Man from MGM in exchange for abandoning participation in the new "James Bond" series. After more than a decade of negotiations, lawsuits, and discussions, Sony Entertainment finally owned the valuable asset—Spider-Man.
The rest is history—2002's "Spider-Man," directed by Sam Raimi, set a new benchmark for summer superhero blockbusters and was hailed as the "breakthrough work that initiated the superhero film era."
Sam Raimi's "Spider-Man" trilogy and the subsequent two "Amazing Spider-Man" films brought Sony Entertainment over $3.2 billion in box office revenue, playing a pivotal role. Meanwhile, Marvel began creating team-up superhero films, and 20th Century Fox and Warner Bros. followed suit with the X-Men Universe and DC Justice League Universe.
Sony Entertainment, with only Spider-Man as its mainstay, couldn't resist the trend. Their original plan was to use "The Amazing Spider-Man 2" as a starting point to build their own "Spider-Man Cinematic Universe." However, the film's $700 million box office fell short of their $1 billion global expectation, making it the lowest-performing Spider-Man film both in terms of revenue and reception.
Facing a dwindling cash cow, Sony Entertainment immediately adjusted their release schedule. "The Amazing Spider-Man 3" was indefinitely postponed, and the future of the villain-centric "Sinister Six" was put on hold. Their bold claim to release a Spider-Man film every year starting in 2016 now seemed like a pipe dream.
However, slowing down and saving on expenses couldn't resolve the tight cash flow and solitary struggle that Sony Columbia Pictures faced. Relying solely on Spider-Man was no longer feasible for Sony Entertainment. Considering the well-established and market-proven Marvel Cinematic Universe, Sony Columbia Pictures actively reached out to Marvel Studios after "The Amazing Spider-Man 2" concluded its North American run, offering their last bargaining chip—Spider-Man's return—in exchange for a ticket to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, hoping to revive Peter Parker's commercial value.
Murphy received definite information that Sony Columbia Pictures and Marvel Studios had initial contacts and even sought opinions from key Avengers actors.
Sony Columbia Pictures proposed several initial plans for Spider-Man's return. Peter Parker would first appear as a key character in a Marvel Cinematic Universe film. If an agreement were reached, Spider-Man might appear in "Captain America 3: Civil War" or "Avengers 3: Infinity War."
Following that, Sony Columbia Pictures would collaborate with Marvel's team to release a new "Spider-Man" film in 2017, with current Spider-Man actor Andrew Garfield, who had a lukewarm reception from fans, not reprising his role.
However, according to information from Robert Downey Jr., Marvel Studios was interested in Sony's proposal but had significant reservations, especially regarding profit distribution.
In Sony Columbia Pictures' proposal, the new "Spider-Man" film would be a joint development, but financing, production, distribution, and core rights would remain with Sony. They also wanted a share of the Marvel Cinematic Universe's pie, while Marvel would only oversee the film's production…
This was obviously unacceptable to Marvel.
Clearly, the Japanese intended to cooperate with Marvel Studios just to make a huge profit, not to transfer the rights and truly bring Spider-Man home.
If this agreement were reached, Sony Columbia Pictures would still hold the core rights of distribution and production for their Spider-Man films. Sony's move was simply to borrow some "fairy dust" from the Avengers, valuing more the established and market-tested cinematic universe, hoping to reposition their lone successor: the Spider-Man series, and regain market approval.
Marvel wanted Spider-Man home, but they wouldn't accept such an unequal agreement.
Murphy shared the information he got from Robert Downey Jr. and other sources with Bill Rossis. "Marvel has concerns. In several initial contacts, the Japanese, holding Spider-Man's film rights, set too high a price, making it difficult for Marvel to accept."
Bill Rossis nodded, "If I were in Kevin Feige's position, I wouldn't accept such an unequal agreement either."
"Kevin Feige is one of the most concerned people." Murphy smiled faintly. "Spider-Man's return is indeed a big deal, capable of boosting the entire Marvel universe's influence, but it also has downsides, with creative differences being the first major obstacle."
Though Sony would make their Spider-Man films, any changes contradicting Marvel's cinematic universe would become issues between two companies. What kind of disputes would arise then?
According to Robert Downey Jr., Kevin Feige was also worried about Sony Columbia Pictures' mess dragging down Marvel Studios.
"These differences arising from profit issues can be resolved through negotiations." Bill Rossis reminded Murphy. "As long as Sony Columbia Pictures is willing to compromise, they still have a high chance of cooperating with Marvel Studios."
"Yes," Murphy agreed with Bill Rossis, "that's true."
Bill Rossis added, "If that happens, Sony Entertainment will definitely suppress the internal voices calling for Columbia Pictures' sale."
Murphy laughed, "That's why I already gave Sony Columbia Pictures a strong dose!"
"Huh?" Bill Rossis was curious. "What dose?"
"Iron Man!" Murphy said slowly. "Robert Downey Jr.!"
Bill Rossis immediately widened his eyes, understanding Murphy's intent. "Good move!"
He then asked, "Has it been implemented?"
"Of course!" Murphy spread his hands. "Downey is also interested in Sony Columbia Pictures. At the beginning of the month, after I called him, he had his agent talk to Marvel Studios' top brass."
"So…" Bill Rossis tilted his head slightly and asked, "How did the talks go?"
Murphy nodded lightly. "Very well. Sony Columbia Pictures' plan is likely to fall through."
Actually, he and Robert Downey Jr. didn't use any special or sophisticated means. Downey's agent simply told Marvel Studios' top brass that Downey himself disliked Spider-Man. In any movie featuring Iron Man, it was either him or Spider-Man, but not both…
In most cases, faced with such a threat, the studio would fire or replace the actor.
Many people say that roles make actors, which is true and often very accurate. But some roles are exceptions, like Iron Man Tony Stark.
Iron Man made Robert Downey Jr. If another actor had been cast before "Iron Man" began filming, the film might still have succeeded. But now, after the success of the "Iron Man" trilogy and "The Avengers," Downey had become synonymous with Iron Man. Marvel Studios was willing to pay him $40 million per film to keep him…
If they lost Downey, what would happen to Iron Man? What about films like the upcoming "Captain America 3"? These were significant challenges Marvel Studios faced.
Iron Man was the most popular character in the Avengers, and Robert Downey Jr. was the most beloved actor among fans. These were backed by ample market research. Marvel Studios knew that replacing Downey as Tony Stark would lead to a significant drop in fan support, affecting the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe's plan.
Downey was tough to deal with, which had already been evident. Otherwise, his salary wouldn't have risen to $40 million per film.
According to Robert Downey Jr., Sony's insincere cooperation proposal and his veiled threat made Marvel Studios reluctant to bring Spider-Man home just yet…
As Murphy finished his discussion with Bill Rossis, more reporters gathered at the entrance of the Death Star building.
"Hey, let me ask you something."
A middle-aged reporter approached a short-haired girl with a camera. "I've been seeing you following Murphy around a lot lately. Which newspaper or website are you from?"
Daisy smoothed her golden bob and said coolly, "I'm a freelance journalist."
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