Why Marvel Studios Can Reference Spider-Man In X-Men "97 Without Sony"s Permission

Summary

• Marvel still owns specific rights to Spider-Man for animated projects like X-Men '97 due to past negotiations with Sony.
• Marvel's deal with Sony allows them to use Spider-Man in animated shows with episodes less than 44 minutes.
• X-Men '97 could potentially lead to crossovers with Spider-Man in the future, including a revival of Spider-Man: The Animated Series.

After years of Sony and Marvel having to negotiate over the rights to Spider-Man, some audience members might wonder how X-Men ‘97 can reference him without Sony’s permission, and the answer is a little complicated. Back before Marvel was quite the media juggernaut it is today, they were forced to sell off the rights to many of their properties to stay financially stable. This included selling most of the rights to Spider-Man to Sony. While Marvel has managed to get most of their characters back at this point, Sony is still hanging on to Spider-Man for now.
Part of why Sony is so intent on starting their universe with movies like Venom and Madame Web is that they need to continue producing Spider-Man content so as not to lose the rights back to Marvel. Marvel is only allowed to use Spider-Man in the MCU because Sony is currently allowing it. However, there is a stipulation in Sony’s rights to Spider-Man that still allows Marvel to use the character in projects like X-Men ‘97 without having to ask for permission.
Marvel Still Owns Some Of The Rights To Spider-Man Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man
Cast Charlie Cox , Paul F. Tompkins Streaming Service(s) Disney Plus Franchise(s) Spider-Man Creator(s) Jeff Trammell Although Marvel sold most of the rights over to Sony, Marvel does still own the rights to use Spider-Man in a very specific way. Back in 2009, Sony gave Marvel back the rights to make animated Spider-Man shows in exchange for more leeway over their live-action projects. This gave Marvel the right to use Spider-Man in any animated TV series with episodes less than 44 minutes in length.
Since this deal, Marvel has used the rights to make several Spider-Man shows, including Ultimate Spider-Man and Marvel’s Spider-Man. They were also able to include Spider-Man in their animated What If…? series, and currently have a new animated Spider-Man show planned, Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man. Thanks to Marvel's freedom to use Spider-Man in this way, he could have an exciting future thanks to X-Men '97.
What This Means For Future Spider-Man Animated Projects X-Men '97
Cast Jennifer Hale , Chris Potter , Alison Sealy-Smith , Lenore Zann , Cal Dodd , Catherine Disher , Adrian Hough , Ray Chase , Chris Britton , George Buza Release Date March 20, 2024 Streaming Service(s) Disney+ Aside from Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, Marvel is currently free to do whatever they want with Spider-Man in animation, so long as they stick to the 44-minute limit. This is easy to do, as animated superhero shows tend to stray closer to the 23-30-minute mark in terms of runtime. This also means that X-Men ‘97 can do more than just the small reference to Peter Parker that appeared in the first episode via showing The Daily Bugle.
Crossovers for X-Men ‘97 have already been teased. These were common back when X-Men: The Animated Series was on TV. Spider-Man crossed over with the X-Men from his own show, something that could happen again if Marvel wants. If X-Men ‘97 continues to be a success for Marvel, they could even potentially revive Spider-Man: The Animated Series in a similar way, without needing express permission from Sony to do so.


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