The timing of these Robert Downey Jr. and Tom Holland photos -- is it perfect or too painful?
Spider-Man fans are still reeling from the news that Sony and Disney are splitting up over Spider-Man, unless they can come to a compromise. A divorce would disconnect Tom Holland's Peter Parker from Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige and the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Tom Holland's Peter has been deeply tied to the MCU since Underoos first showed up in Captain America: Civil War, and the recent movie Spider-Man: Far From Home was very much connected to Avengers: Endgame and the death of Peter's mentor, Tony Stark.
Speaking of Tony Stark, actors Tom Holland and Robert Downey Jr. recently reunited and went on a hike together. Holland shared a gallery of photos, culminating with the stars holding each other's action figures -- RDJ with Spider-Man and Holland with Iron Man. The photos worked MCU fans into a frenzy, since it hasn't even been a week since the Spider-Man/MCU news came out.
That's the closest Tom Holland has come to acknowledging the Spider-Man kerfuffle happening around him. Mark Ruffalo (Bruce Banner/The Hulk) replied with three sad face emojis.
Some Marvel stars have spoken out on the Sony/Disney news, including Hawkeye actor Jeremy Renner's pitch to keep Spider-Man in the MCU. A few fans are planning to "storm Sony" and demand they bring Spider-Man home to the MCU. Many fans seem to be blaming Sony, but there are plenty of others who defend Sony and call Disney greedy for wanting so much more money in a new deal.
Outrage and blame-game tactics seem premature, since this could all turnaround with a new deal. But the news leaked out for a reason, and both studios may be hoping to leverage it for future negotiations.
There are still may questions on what a Marvel and Sony split could mean, and also how Tom Holland's Spider-Man could continue in the Far From Home sequel without a direct tie to the MCU. Spider-Man: Far From Home recently topped a Bond movie to become Sony's highest-grossing movie of all time. But how much of that is because of its direct ties to the MCU? Without MCU architect Kevin Feige to connect Tom Holland's Spider-Man to the rest of the MCU, how much of Peter's own story would be blipped?
Peter Parker has many problems ahead, and it would be heartbreaking to see his story disconnected from Mr. Stark, Happy Hogan, Pepper Potts, Nick Fury, and everyone else in the MCU. Fans will have to wait and see if Tom Holland has more to say on the subject, and if Disney/Sony have more to say about Marvel Studios' future with Spider-Man.
For now, keep up with the future of the MCU (which now includes Jon Snow?) with our handy guide.
