Paul Sarker Interview: MCU & Spider-Man
Paul Sarker worked as Marvel's Legal Counsel, playing a major role in shaping the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Best known as the co-host of Better Call Paul, a podcast that discusses everything from entertainment law to crypto, Paul Sarker has now been practicing as an attorney for about 11 years. He started his career at Marvel and Disney after interning for a few law firms, and worked for them for almost six years.
It's easy for viewers to forget that legal deals lie at the heart of the MCU, a shared universe that was born using characters Marvel hadn't sold off to other film studios — and that grew as characters returned to the House of Ideas. The Marvel/Sony Spider-Man deal was in itself a major achievement for the lawyers, and at times the maintenance of that deal has proved to be tricky; it almost fell apart completely in 2019 after the release of Spider-Man: Far From Home, and it took the intervention of Tom Holland himself to encourage everyone to return to the negotiating table. That means lawyers and attorneys like Sarker are key to the MCU's success.
Related: Why Thor: Love And Thunder Is The Most Exciting MCU Movie Of 2022
Screen Rant spoke to Sarker about his work with Marvel Studios, the legendary Marvel approach to spoilers and Non-Disclosure Agreements, and the hugely successful Marvel-Sony deal. Naturally, Sarker avoided disclosing anything that would breach client confidentiality or his own NDAs with Marvel, but the insights are nonetheless informative — and will give audiences hope that the Spider-Man deal will continue in the long-term.
Screen Rant: With your background in Marvel, can you give us an idea of the kind of issues you used to deal with as Marvel's legal counsel?
Paul Sarker: It's hard to say
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