What If...? Creators Reveal Sony's Rights to Spider-Man Became a Concern

Comic book movie fans are well aware that for the longest time, Sony Pictures has the film rights to Spider-Man and it doesn't look like they're willing to let go of Marvel's flagship superhero anytime soon.

Thankfully, they were able to negotiate a deal with Marvel Studios that would allow the web-slinger to appear in the Marvel Cinematic Universe but it's no secret that there came a time when Spidey's Sony rights became troublesome for Kevin Feige and his crew.

In 2019, Sony and Marvel shockingly ended their partnership which meant Spidey would no longer be part of the billion-dollar franchise. Of course, cooler heads prevailed in the end and the collaboration between the two studios is still effective to this day. We don't know the extent of Spidey's MCU deal but turns out, he's also allowed to appear in other projects aside from films.

However, Spidey's complicated rights apparently became a major issue when the studio was working on the What If...? series. In an interview with, UPROXX, the brilliant minds behind the upcoming animated show, head writer A.C. Bradley and director Bryan Andrews revealed that the rights to the character caused some concern early on but Marvel Studios worked things out.

Bradley shared: "I think that works with 'people above our pay grade.' Though, I think I did ask that early on. I was like, 'Can we just touch Spider-Man?' And they went, 'Don't worry about it. We're going to figure it out. Just tell the best story you can, and we'll cross that bridge.' That was kind of the mandate across the board with Marvel: As long as you're not doing something that we're doing in the movies, go have fun and we'll figure it out.'"

Andrews added that Marvel pretty much assured them that there's nothing to worry about. "No, they want the quality. They want to go for the quality and they're like, 'Yeah, let's go. And all that BS is stuff that we have to deal with.' It's like, 'We'll deal with that. Don't worry about it.' Which I think that's awesome. From day one on all their projects, it's quality all the way down the line. You know what I mean? And that's great."

Also Read:Marvel Studios Shockingly Recasts Robert Downey Jr. in What If..? Series

We don't know how much longer Marvel Studios will be able to use Spider-Man in the MCU and rumor has it that Spider-Man: No Way Home could be the final time we see him in the franchise. Hopefully, both studios will be able to sort things out anew because it would be a shame not to have Spidey on board especially now that Phase Four is set to dive into the multiverse.

What If...? will premiere on August 11 only on Disney+.