The MCU Spider-Man movies are nothing short of a miracle. To have them exist in the first place required intensive cooperation and trust between both Sony Pictures and Marvel Studios. Somehow, even though their relationship almost fell apart, the two are still working happily together. In fact, there are more Spider-Man movies in the pipeline. But what about Sony’s other projects?
How involved is Marvel Studios and its President Kevin Feige when it comes to films like Venom and Morbius? Seeing as neither of those projects features Spider-Man, one would naturally assume that Sony is going at it alone.
Another reason why many think Marvel isn’t involved is the quality of these spin-off projects. To put it lightly, Jared Leto’s new “Marvel Legend” was not taken too well.
While it might seem the obvious answer is that Marvel Studios doesn’t include themselves outside of Tom Holland, the truth might be the opposite. According to a new report, Kevin Feige may be more a part of the process than previously thought.
Kevin Feige’s Sony Involvement Revealed
In a new report from The Ankler, a surprising detail about Kevin Feige's own Spider-Senses was revealed.
According to the outlet, the Marvel Studios President doesn’t just help out with the Tom Holland Spider-Man films. He does still offer notes for Sony’s projects outside of the MCU.
One of the outlet's insiders “[credited] Feige for guiding Sony’s approach" as well as "warning the studio not to get too ahead of itself:"
"And yes, Marvel’s Kevin Feige does weigh in and offer notes on Sony’s Marvel movies that don’t feature Spider-Man. One insider credits Feige for guiding Sony’s approach and warning the studio not to get too ahead of itself in terms of building some larger universe in the vein of the Avengers movies."
This wouldn't be the first time that the MCU boss has given the studio some guidance, as revealed by the infamous Sony leaks from 2014. Feige had numerous comments on The Amazing Spider-Man 2 prior to its release, in addition to ways in which these could be improved.
The Marvel Studios President mentioned in emails to Sony producer Amy Pascal that he "really love[d] Electro," but suggested that the movie "may not need the scene in his apartment, which makes him [seem] completely crazy and hard to relate" to.
Feige also took issue with how the film opens, telling Sony: "don’t start with Spider-Man… let the danger/stakes to NYC build first and then have Spider-Man enter the scene heroically."
Also a problem for Feige was Andrew Garfield's leading performance, which the MCU boss felt was "all over the place:"
"Andrew’s performance is all over the place…a lot of crying and then a lot of mania. Hard to track him emotionally sometimes. It undermines his reaction to Gwen’s death b/c he gets upset and emotional a lot."
As is evident by the final release of the Andrew Garfield-led film, much of these problems were not addressed by Sony.
Will Sony Start Listening to the MCU Boss?
Many might be confused to hear that Feige does, in fact, give notes to Sony. It certainly makes one wonder how that abysmal, and often memed, Morbius post-credits sequence made it to screen.
The odds of the Marvel Studios’ boss’ words falling on deaf ears are probably pretty high. After all, Sony somehow decided to make Kraven the Hunter an animal lover for his upcoming solo project—the antithesis of the character in the comics.
It’s probably a safe bet that Feige didn’t recommend they make a movie out of El Muerto; one of Sony’s most questionable choices to date.
At the end of the day, Marvel Studios wants and needs access to Spider-Man, and they will likely do everything possible to keep that status quo. Sadly, this seemingly includes the creation of projects such as Morbius.
It's unclear whether Sony Pictures will take Feige's notes on board at this point. The studio was riding on high on the Venom franchise's financial success in spite of the films' critical reception, but Morbius' lackluster response and box office blunders may convince Sony to finally listen to a heavily experienced outsider's perspective.
Morbius is now available to buy where movies are sold.
