Sony Can No Longer ProduceSpectacular Spider-Man

First Possible Casualty in Disney's Marvel Acquisition

Sep 2, 2009

Sony had to give up all rights to Spectacular Spider-Man due to Disney's buyout, but there is no word on whether Marvel will continue producing the acclaimed series.

Ever since Disney's acquisition of Marvel was announced earlier this week, fans of Marvel have been speculating on what would happen to Marvel and its beloved franchises. Would the comics be the same? Will only Disney be allowed to air Marvel animated series? What will happen to future Marvel movie projects? It turns out that the fans didn't have long to wait to see one change.

IGN interviewed Greg Weisman, the Supervising Producer of The Spectacular Spider-Man, on September 1, 2009 and learned that Sony had to give up all its television rights to Spider-Man, which included the animated series, in exchange for "some concession vis-a-vis the live action Spider-Man features."

Weisman confirmed that Sony was no longer involved with The Spectacular Spider-Man animation, and while he said that Marvel could pick up and produce the series, he also pointed out that nothing says they have to do so.

However, since The Spectacular Spider-Man was already airing on Disney XD, and it is the only current (as in not a rerun show such as Spider-Man or X-Men: Evolution) Marvel-based project that Disney aired before the buyout, there is a tiny bit of hope for the show.

Weisman even says that the decision really lies with Disney XD, as they haven't yet said if they want to continue with a third season. If the channel decides that they don't want any additional episodes, then due to Sony giving up their rights, the studio can't shop around for other stations to pick up the series. He added that nobody at Disney [at the time of the interview] had contacted him about the series.

So while it's possible that The Spectacular Spider-Man could be the first casualty in the Disney/Marvel buyout, the series has a lot going for it that could make Marvel and Disney think twice about canceling the series, or worse, scrapping it and putting out a brand new series as IGN postulated.

The Spectacular Spider-Man series has put out two incredible seasons thus far, and it's very clear from the second season finale that the series' staff has plenty in store for Spidey and his friends. The show has obtained both critical acclaim and a large, loyal fanbase despite the delays between the new episodes as well as the seasons. It would be more than disappointing to fans to end the series now, especially after such a cliffhanger in Peter Parker's life. Disney and Marvel both have plenty of money to make from these loyal fans alone.

In addition, the series has already been heavily branded and it has developed an accompanying toy line. These toys are flying off the shelves as quickly as the stores are stocking them, and it would be another shame (and possibly idiotic) to not continue with an already successful toy line.

All fans of Spidey should keep their fingers crossed. Marvel and Disney both have a lot going on right now with the buyout, but they will eventually get to sorting out The Spectacular Spider-Man franchise. Hopefully it will be in the fans' favor.

The copyright of the article Sony Can No Longer ProduceSpectacular Spider-Man in Animated Films is owned by Keri Honea. Permission to republish Sony Can No Longer ProduceSpectacular Spider-Man in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.