'Spider-Man: Homecoming' may see Spider-Man film rights return to Marvel

“Spider-Man: Homecoming” is quite the special entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). As some fans may already know, “Homecoming” marks the culmination of the trademark deal between Sony Pictures and Marvel Studios. To reiterate, Sony owns the film rights to the Spider-Man character. Recently, both Sony and Marvel came to an agreement that will allow Marvel to have the character appear within the MCU with Sony still maintaining the film rights. However, “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2” star Dave Bautista revealed in a recent interview that the Spider-Man film rights may eventually return to Marvel following the release of “Homecoming.”

Speaking to former WWE colleague Chris Jericho on “Talk is Jericho” at Podcast One, Bautista mentioned the upcoming “Homecoming” and how he believes that Marvel will sooner or later re-acquire the film rights to Spider-Man.

“Spider-Man is the one I’m really looking forward to,” Bautista said. “I love that kid — I love Tom Holland. I also love that they’re staying so true to the comics with this whole series and I think that’s because Marvel Studios has gotten involved. I think before, I think it was Sony who had control. And I think they’re doing a partnership now, but I think they will — I don’t know this for sure — but I think they’re going to re-acquire Spider-Man.”

The current iteration of the character is portrayed by actor Tom Holland who first made his debut in the MCU with “Captain America: Civil War” back in 2016. A lot may be riding on “Homecoming,” as its performance at the box office may dictate the future of Holland’s Peter Parker and the character in the MCU. While Holland is set to appear in 2018’s “Avengers: Infinity War” and its subsequent sequel in 2019, he is also slated to reprise his role as Spider-Man in the sequel to “Homecoming.” Though the deal between Sony and Marvel is only applicable up to the “Homecoming” sequel, Holland previously revealed that he has a six-picture deal with Marvel Studios.

“I do know I have three Spider-Man movies and three solo movies contracted,” Holland told The Hollywood Reporter when asked as to how long he signed on to portray the webslinger. The details of his contract and how it will manifest in the MCU is still unknown, and Holland has yet to reveal himself just what his plans are with Marvel and its future films.