Oh, absolutely. But, here’s the thing, that’s what both sides were counting on by making this public. They want people upset and angry and driving the other side to accept a deal. In the
Variety article it is even stated these are the kinds of tactics that Rothman has engaged in before. I fully expect, given how close the figures got over the week since it was announced there was a split and D23, that they are back to the negotiating table.
I would like to point out, though, that for all the people putting their faith in the trades to let us know when negotiations have started, I wouldn’t hold your breath. According to
Deadline, these talks had been going on for months and the first we heard of it was when discussions had broken down. And, in 2014, after discussions had broken down over the prospective partnership between
Sony and
Marvel, it took us THREE MONTHS to hear anything different than it was over. And who’d we hear from that a deal has been reached in February of 2015? It was a press release from
Sony and
Marvel.
They only leaked it to the trades to get negotiations started up again on different terms with each side signaling they would’ve made compromises my guess is they weren’t making in the room at the time. But, now, we just have to be patient and wade through denial after denial, just like last time. After all,
Sony categorically denied the 2015 deal until it happened. I expect the same happened here.