This is partly because they’re popular with the public. But that popularity is driven by Disney’s formidable
marketing muscle which has the clout to drown rivals out.
The MCU is like nothing we’ve ever seen before, involving multiple franchises that are periodically brought
together through The Avengers to further a huge overarching narrative.
Its launch, on the back of “second tier” characters such as Iron Man, Thor and Captain America, involved
the company taking a creative and commercial risk.
The danger today is that Disney has become so big and so powerful it doesn’t need to take that sort of risk
anymore and can rest easy on the tried, tested and familiar.
Could Sony and Spider-Man change that? The web slinger is himself a long-established franchise that has
seen two reboots already. And there probably wouldn’t be a multi-character spiderverse if there hadn’t been
an MCU first. Those who dislike comic-book movies will sigh.
Still even critics were mostly forced to admit that the studio’s Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse animated
offering was wildly inventive. It became a vanishingly rare non-Disney/Pixar offering to steal away the Best
Animated Picture Oscar.
Disney could surely use some commercial and creative competition if only to force a little more risk-taking
and innovation on its part. If Sony can provide that, it might make Spidey’s departure a price worth paying.