After MCU. In 2015, Marvel Studios reached an unprecedented deal with Sony Pictures that allowed them to reboot Spider-Man as part of the MCU. Tom Holland was cast as the latest iteration of Peter Parker, and from the beginning Marvel was careful to make this version unique by stressing his relationship to the wider Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Much of this centered upon Avengers: Endgame because he ed Peter Parker, and he wanted to bring the teenager back. Marvel's decision to tie Spider-Man and Iron Man together was understandable, given Iron Man was the biggest franchise in the MCU - until 2018, every single MCU movie to break $1 billion in the global box office included Robert Downey Jr.
Spider-Man has, however, just taken Iron Man's place as the biggest franchise in the MCU. Both characters have now starred in their own trilogies; and while Iron Man's three films grossed an impressive $2.42 billion worldwide, Spider-Man's have broken $3 billion - with Spider-Man: No Way Home still in cinemas, breaking $1 billion in spite of the pandemic. "Tom [Holland] is stepping into the role that Robert Downey once occupied for Marvel, which is the favorite character, and in a lot of ways the soul of the Marvel universe," Avengers: Endgame co-director Joe Russo observed in a recent interview with GQ. The numbers alone seem to suggest Joe Russo is right.
The film rights to Spider-Man are complex, requiring an ongoing partnership between Marvel and Sony to keep Spider-Man in the MCU. Spider-Man: No Way Home has already become Sony's highest-grossing movie of all time, but the blockbuster's performance should also be chalked up as a success for Marvel and Disney as well. Under the of the Avengers: Infinity War (which broke $2.048 billion), and Avengers: Endgame ($2.798 billion+).
Given all this, it's no wonder both Sony and Marvel now seem committed to keep their partnership going for the foreseeable future. There's already a new Marvel/Sony Spider-Man deal in place covering a further trilogy of movies set in the MCU, and it likely includes additional cameo films for the wall-crawler as well. Spider-Man has taken Iron Man's place as the MCU's Golden Goose - and neither Marvel nor Sony will want to risk any problems.
