Poll: Who should get movie rights to Spiderman? Who needs it more?

[Seracen]

I know Sony said they'll never sell the movie rights to Spiderman. Still, I hold out hope that "Amazing Spiderman 2" does poorly enough that they actually let the IP go.

Admittedly, I wasn't a fan of the reboot. However, I think anyone would agree, SOME potential for crossover is better than none.

In a world where Sony DIDN'T own the rights to Spiderman, who should get it?

NOTE: I am NOT including the choice that Marvel regains ALL rights, as obviously that would be optimal, but isn't likely. I'm not including a 4th choice for "neither/other," as it seems troll-worthy.


1) Arguments for Marvel:

The more obvious choice. It'd be great to see him in the Avengers, and Marvel would likely do much greater justice to the character than Sony has done.

They've got a better track record with the movies as well. With Ghost Rider, Daredevil, and Blade returning to Marvel, Spidey would nicely add to the growing roster.


2) Arguments for Fox:

In an eventual crossover, Spidey would forge a nice bridge between X-Men and Fantastic Four.

The X-Men are superhumans who are shunned by society, whereas the F4 are celebrities. Spiderman would therefore straddle this line, allowing a more seamless transition.

There is also an argument that Fox needs it more badly, both in terms of crossover material and general movie success; whereas Spidey's just another loner in the Avengers' cap if Marvel gets him.


3) Still others like Sony's handling of the franchise, and don't want to see it get ANOTHER reboot, should ownership switch hands.


Some even suggest that the various factions should just pool resources for one giant crossover. This isn't likely, as continuity would be impossible to keep straight without some unified vision (which hasn't been there thus far). Furthermore, how would the corporations share the cost/profits on such a venture?

I have my own opinions of course, but I'll keep silent until folks have weighed in.

 

[WolfThomas]

Look as much as I hate it. Marvel did sell the rights to Sony. And at the time it was the right idea. Selling movies rights was one of the things that kept Marvel from bankruptcy during the 90s comic crash. So it's Sony.

But if Sony somehow disappeared, it should go to Marvel as it's their original property.

But what annoys me is how little inter-company cooperation there is. I'd love to have seen the briefest of cameos or even a name drop in the Avengers film.

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

Honestly? Neither. Xmen and Avengers are over-cast and over-crowded as they are, why add ANOTHER dude on the side of the goody two shoes team? He'll get minimal screentime or take somebody else's time anyway.

 

[Dirty Hipsters]

I'd say Marvel/Disney, since I think they would do better with the character, and just do him more justice.

If they give him to Fox it would most likely be incredibly mediocre, like most of their superhero movies. The Fantastic Four movies are awful, and the X-Men movies rate from pretty decent (X-Men first class, X-Men 2) to absolutely abysmal (X-Men 3, Wolverine). They just don't have a track record of understanding the characters they're making movies for.

 

[Timotei]

He'll get minimal screentime or take somebody else's time anyway.

You mean the time for all the characters which they'll probably decide to throw out for more Robert Downey Jr. scenery chewing?

 

[Aesir23]

I'd say either Marvel or keep him with Sony. I say Marvel since he is a Marvel comics character, but I also didn't mind how the Amazing Spider-Man turned out and I certainly liked it better than Raimi's trilogy.

Honestly, I would love to see Spidey get even the smallest cameo in a movie like the Avengers but I'm content with how things are for the moment.

 

[suitepee7]

i'm totally in agreement about sony getting the rights, they bought it fair and square, but i would really hope marvel get the rights back at some point. i didn't mind the original sam raimi trilogy, but the recent reboot was just awful. i was just sat in the cinema laughing with how bad some sections were (the cranes all across the city being moved was just painful to watch...) and while only a few of the recent marvel superhero movies really blew me away, i thought all of them have been decent at the very least

 

[optimusjamie]

I voted Marvel, but to be honest, I'm torn on this one.

On the one hand, if Marvel Studios had the licenses for Spider-Man, X-Men and Fantastic Four, they could definitely do them justice better than the other studios did. On the other hand, not having access to their most iconic characters means that Marvel can be more creative, letting them use original characters or bring out lesser-known ones.

 

[Seracen]

To a certain extent, I like that the IP is divided. As stated by some of you, it keeps the universes from getting too crowded, and forces the studios to get more creative. It may also mean that we get more movies, as one studio isn't making all the release schedules!

As far as right of ownership, I also agree that whoever bought it legally owns it. Still, it'd be nice for the original creators to get it back. Especially considering how much Disney just paid to get Star Wars, I can see them buying back the other IP's once the coffers refill.

Still unsure whether Sony or Fox NEED Spiderman more, though Marvel is clearly doing fine without him. Lots of folks say that Spiderman is what is propping up Sony's Entertainment Division. That's odd, considering the Playstation and all.

I'm not the biggest fan of Fox, as they just cancel all my favorite shows; and let's not get started on their past movie blunders. However, I can't deny seeing a Spiderman crossover with the XMen or the Fantastic 4 would be awesome. There'd be less crowding there as well (so long as they were conservative with the X-Population).

I'd just love to see a great mixup between the Spiderman villains and ANY of the other heroes, Marvel's stable OR Fox's. Honestly, the only one with a better, more varied, rogue's gallery is Batman!

For instance, if the villain in Iron Man 3 were Mysterio or Chameleon, I feel less people would have been miffed by the "twist" (though I had no personal problem with it, and can see "true Mandarin" as a separate entity).

Sure, it'd be a different origin for the villain, but I feel a reworking of the plot to make it a Spidey villain may have been plausible (no less plausible than an Ultron without Antman).

Ah well, if wishes were horses, and all that...

 

[MCerberus]

I'm more wanting Deadpool to default back to Marvel than Spiderman at this point.

 

[SecondSince]

A big 'meh'. Haven't we had enough Spidey-movies the last few years? And none of them were really good. So i'd like to see Spidey go bye bye for a few years. Then in 5 or 7 or 10 years, or even longer, we would actually be excited for a Spiderman film.

Just my thought on the matter.

 

[Seracen]

I'm more wanting Deadpool to default back to Marvel than Spiderman at this point.

It's unfair what they are doing to Deadpool. FOX owns him, but they aren't pursuing the character (obviously distancing themselves from the Wolverine debacle). I suppose it's the debate on whether they should make [gasp] an R-Rated comic movie.

A big 'meh'. Haven't we had enough Spidey-movies the last few years? And none of them were really good. So i'd like to see Spidey go bye bye for a few years. Then in 5 or 7 or 10 years, or even longer, we would actually be excited for a Spiderman film.

Just my thought on the matter.

As for over-saturation of Spiderman, I agree. Personally, I am more miffed BECAUSE of the reboots. MovieBob nicely explained a studio's love of the reboot (less production costs). Who can say if a continued story arc would have made the stories better?

I will say, however, that in this case, Spiderman would benefit from being part of a larger universe. After all, the studio wouldn't have to over-expose us to Spiderman if he was part of a larger cash-cow (ie Avengers or X-Men/F4).