Jeremy Renner is taking aim at Sony and asking that they keep Spider-Man in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The future of the MCU has become a lot more complicated in a short amount of time. After working to complete Phase 3 with Avengers: Endgame and Spider-Man: Far From Home, news came recently that Spider-Man could be leaving the shared universe behind due to stalled negotiations between Marvel Studios and Sony.

The news could potentially have major ramifications on what the MCU looks like in the near and distant future. Spider-Man has been positioned as the next Iron Man in-universe after Spider-Man: Far From Home. He was also a prime candidate to become the face of the entire MCU due to his popularity with fans. All of this could potentially go by the wayside if Marvel and Sony don’t work out their differences - which is still possible - and has resulted in an original Avenger trying to help.

Jeremy Renner has been part of the MCU since 2011’s Thor, and has played the sharp-shooting Hawkeye in five movies. In one of the first public responses to the news from someone associated with the MCU, Renner took to Instagram to ask Sony to keep Spider-Man in the shared universe.

As heroic of an attempt as this may be from Renner, the Sony and Marvel partnership was already complicated prior to this rift and isn’t a simple fix. The initial deal between the studios saw Marvel produce the two standalone Spider-Man movies, while Sony paid for them in their entirety and received the box office profits. Marvel may have received 5% of them, but it was previously reported that they waived their right to that claim. Instead, they were able to use Spider-Man in their own movies and not share the profits with Sony. Marvel also received the full share of revenue from Spider-Man merchandise.

It appears that when Marvel and Sony went back to the negotiating table to try and continue this partnership though, no agreement could be met. Finding a solution at this point will take much more than one of the most valuable Avengers posting about it online though. Instead, Disney/Marvel will likely need to back down from their reported asking price of a 50/50 split of financing and box office profits. Even if a lower split is agreed upon, there are also discussion points like Sony’s spinoff films entering the MCU that would need to be addressed.

The response to the news that Marvel and Sony are stopping their partnership has not been met by much optimism so far, so it’s possible that pressure could mount and a deal will be agreed upon. And who knows, maybe Renner’s post will be the first of many public pleas by the people involved with the franchises to Sony and Marvel to find a solution that keeps Spider-Man in the MCU moving forward.

MORE: Will Future Spider-Man Movies Still Be In The MCU?

Source: Jeremy Renner

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