Spider-Man's Tom Holland and Robert Downey Jr tease fans amid shock Disney-Sony split

The former co-stars pose up a storm together. 
Getty Images
Tobi Akingbade23 August 2019
The Weekender

Sign up to our free weekly newsletter for exclusive competitions, offers and theatre ticket deals

I would like to be emailed about offers, event and updates from Evening Standard. Read our privacy notice.

Tom Holland and Robert Downey Jr have been pictured side by side as they teased their fans in the midst of the chaotic Marvel and Sony Spider-Man row.

The co-stars posed for a taunting selfie while holding an Iron Man and Spider-Man action figure, with the 23-year-old captioning the string of snaps: “We did it Mr Stark!”

Although Holland hasn't addressed the news directly – his father has done it on his behalf – he has now given fans an update on Instagram.

Of course, fans will be delighted to see the pair reunited but it won’t soothe away the uncertainty of Spider-Man’s future – we already know Iron Man aka Tony Stark has moved on from the franchise.

Addressing its controversial break with Marvel this week, Sony Pictures admitted that although it was "disappointed" with the situation, it "respects Disney's decision".

The entertainment giant released a statement over the failed negotiations to continue the Spider-Man franchise with Marvel Studios’ involvement.

Sony has owned the film rights for the beloved superhero since 1999 and struck a landmark deal with Disney in 2015 allowing the character to appear in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).

It was recently reported the two studios were unable to come to an agreement over co-financing future Spider-Man films.

Getty Images

Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige had taken a key creative role in the last two Spider-Man films, starring British actor Holland, and successfully integrated the web slinger into its multi-billion dollar Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Now, in a public statement shared on Twitter, Sony Pictures said it "respects" Disney's decision not to allow Feige to take such a big role in a franchise it does not own, and hinted a deal could be done further down the line.

It said: “Much of today’s news about Spider-Man has mischaracterised recent discussions about Kevin Feige’s involvement in the franchise.

"We are disappointed, but respect Disney's decision not to have him continue as a lead producer of our next live action Spider-Man film."

Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP

The Sony spokesperson added: “We hope this might change in the future, but understand that the many new responsibilities that Disney has given him – including all their newly added Marvel properties – do not allow time for him to work on the IP they do not own.

“Kevin is terrific and we are grateful for his help and guidance and appreciate the path he has helped put us on, which we will continue.”

This comes as angry fans launched multiple petitions to challenge the recent decision, with titles including "Keep Spider-Man with Disney and the MCU" and "Keep Spider-Man in the MCU".

Feige was a lead producer on both Spider-Man: Homecoming and Spider-Man: Far From Home starring Holland.

Spider-Man: Far From Home recently became Sony’s highest-grossing film ever, an indication that they could succeed in stepping away from Marvel Studios’ involvement.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in