Spider-Man split upsets fans

A public rift between Marvel Studios and Sony Pictures could mean big changes for popular superhero movies. Sony owns the movie rights to the Spider-Man character and just had its highest-grossing movie ever this summer with Spider-Man: Far From Home. The two studios have cooperated in recent years, with Spider-Man appearing in Avengers movies and Marvel’s Iron Man playing an important role in the Spider-Verse. But that could be ending over a disagreement about profit-sharing, according to an exclusive report by Deadline.

How are fans taking it? Not well. A chorus of Spider-geeks is lamenting the split and accusing both sides of greed. “Even though Stan Lee would always give multiple chances, if he was still here today his heart would be broken,” one Twitter user wrote. Stan Lee, who died last year, created the character for comic books. Actor Jeremy Renner, who plays the Avenger Hawkeye, asked Sony via Instagram to let Spider-Man stay with Marvel.

Dig deeper: Read WORLD’s reviews of recent Spider-Man movies.