When "The Amazing Spider-Man 2" was released in 2014, Sony Pictures planned to create at least two personal sequels for Andrew Garfield and prepare spin-off movies such as "Venom", in which Spider-Man will also appear as an involuntary member. However, this sequel failed to reach the $1 billion box office expected by Sony. Subsequently, the hacker attack on Sony Pictures exposed the company's internal discussions on cooperation with Marvel Studios, completely changing the direction of the series.
Sony eventually handed over creative leadership to Kevin Feige, and Spider-Man officially joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe in 2016's "Captain America 3." Tom Holland's personal trilogy, which took over from Garfield, was a huge success. Although Sony took most of the box office revenue, Marvel also benefited greatly through peripheral merchandise and the appearance of characters in the Avengers series.
In a recent interview with foreign media, Sony Pictures CEO Tom Rothman reviewed the 2021 "Spider-Man: No Home"'s box office success of US$1.9 billion, and admitted that the film's failure to break the 2 billion mark made him "bitter". The crux is that the film failed to land in the Chinese mainland market: "According to my calculations, it should have exceeded 2 billion. I know how much box office we can win in China. Their request at the time was to delete the Statue of Liberty."
Since the climax of the entire film is set in this landmark building in New York, this requirement was obviously impossible to achieve. He also emphasized that cooperation with Marvel is always a "win-win situation."
When asked whether the sequel "Spider-Man: Brand New Day" would avoid elements of the Statue of Liberty, Rothman said frankly: "Coincidentally, it is." This move obviously paves the way for the film to return to the Chinese mainland market during the summer.
In the interview, Rothman also refuted the idea that "The Amazing Spider-Man 2" brought down the series: "That movie had a global box office of 800 million US dollars. It was more of an opportunity than a failure. Marvel is indeed excellent, and Kevin Feige is a genius - not only did we bring Marvel to participate in the production, but we also allowed the new Spider-Man to be in the same frame as Robert Downey Jr.'s Iron Man."
Although the cooperation between Sony and Marvel was on the verge of breakdown after "Spider-Man: Far From Home", the two parties have now restored their old relationship. Judging from current signs, this partnership will continue to deepen after "Spider-Man: New Day". The film is scheduled to be released worldwide on July 31, 2026.