Disney reportedly denied Lloyd Jones’ request to put Spider-Man on his son Ollie’s gravestone, a Spider-Man superfan that died from a rare genetic disease.
Lloyd Jones, a resident of Maidstone, Kent, wanted to put an etching of Spider-Man on his son Ollie’s tombstone to honor his love for Spider-Man. According to a report from The Sun, Disney allegedly denied Lloyd Jones’ request because it wants to preserve Spider-Man’s “innocence.”
Before approaching Disney, Mr. Jones talked with Maidstone Council about the etching he wanted and they informed him about contacting the copyright owners. This ultimately led to Disney refusing permission to use it on the tombstone. Mr. Jones said that Disney does not want their characters associated with death. Mr. Jones told The Sun about the experience:
“I think this is all about money. Ollie’s last holiday was at Disneyland. He loved Spider-Man and we had bought him all the toys.”
He continued:
“But now he has died and we won’t be spending any more money, they don’t care.”
Ollie passed away in December last year from a rare genetic order called leukodystrophy, which affects both the brain and nervous system. His six-year-old sister, Laillah, also suffers from the same disease.
Ollie’s funeral procession was led by someone dressed as Spider-Man and the character was on his coffin.
A spokeswoman for the Maidstone Borough Council said they would do “everything they can” to help the family. She went into detail about the copyright issue:
“Sadly, these types of stones have to adhere to copyright and while we understand this is a very emotional time for the family we have made contact with Marvel to ensure the family are complying with their terms and conditions.”
Directed by Jon Watts from a script written by Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers, Spider-Man: Far From Home stars Tom Holland, Jake Gyllenhaal, Zendaya, Jacob Batalon, Tony Revolori, Martin Starr, Numan Acar, J.B. Smoove, Oli Hill, Remy Hii, Marisa Tomei, Michael Keaton, Jon Favreau, Cobie Smulders, and Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury.
Following the events of Avengers: Endgame, Spider-Man must step up to take on new threats in a world that has changed forever.
Spider-Man: Far From Home will be released in theaters on July 2, 2019.
Source: The Sun
