Marvel Studios & Sony will reboot Spider-Man into the Marvel Cinematic Universe

Marvel Studios & Sony will reboot Spider-Man into the Marvel Cinematic Universe

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Well this is interesting and potentially exciting news for comic book movie fans. After a lot of mixed feelings over Marc Webb’s AMAZING SPIDER-MAN films starring Andrew Garfield, and Sony’s recent email leak controversy, people have been wondering if the character of Spider-Man might possibly be returned to Marvel Studios – Sony has held the rights since the first Sam Raimi SPIDER-MAN movie, and it’s prevented any chance of the character comfortably crossing over with the other popular Marvel movie heroes. Now it appears everything has changed, and Spidey will in fact be under considerable control of Marvel Studios and Disney. You can read the full press release below. This isn’t exactly a situation where Sony Pictures has released the rights in total, but rather a partnership with Sony and Disney allowing Marvel Studios to produce the next Spider-Man movie, and incorporate the character into their highly successful cinematic universe. Yes folks, this means we may actually see Peter Parker standing side by side with Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man, or Chris Hemsworth as Thor, or Chris Evans as Captain America, or even Benedict Cumberbatch as Dr. Strange. It’s being said that Spidey will first appear in a Marvel film (undetermined at the moment) before then being the star of his own solo movie – and yes, it will be yet another reboot of sorts, as Andrew Garfield is said to be out of the game now. Sony will release a new Spider-Man film on July 28, 2017, and that movie will be co-produced by Kevin Feige and Amy Pascal. This also opens the door for Marvel heroes to appear in Spider-Man films as well. While Sony will retain control of financing and distribution of the Spidey movies, this hopefully means we’ll see a more cohesive vision that matches the quality of the Marvel Studios productions. So what do you think? Is this a good move, or a recipe for a messy merger? Tell us in the comments.

Some unknown but obviously curious factors on this:

Will Spider-Man play a role in CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR? That story is based on the popular comic book mini-series, in which Spidey played a major role, so that could be an important pairing of heroes.

Will Spider-Man appear in the AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR movies going up against Thanos? While Spidey has certainly spent his share of time side by side with The Avengers in the comic books, the idea of his next to the cinematic super-team is pretty grand. Could this work? Would it be too cluttered? We’ll see.

What sort of Spider-Man will we get rebooted (again) with? Will he be young, like high school age? Will he be in college? Is he tough or kind of scrawny? This almost raises more questions than it does satisfactory answers. Can you think of some concerns like these we missed?

SONY PICTURES ENTERTAINMENT BRINGS MARVEL STUDIOS INTO THE AMAZING WORLD OF SPIDER-MAN
New Spider-Man Will Appear First in an Upcoming Marvel Film Within Marvel’s Cinematic Universe
Marvel’s Kevin Feige to Produce Next Installment of the Spider-Man Franchise with Amy Pascal

(Culver City, California, and Burbank, California February 09, 2015) – Sony Pictures Entertainment and Marvel Studios announced today that Sony is bringing Marvel into the amazing world of Spider-Man.

Under the deal, the new Spider-Man will first appear in a Marvel film from Marvel’s Cinematic Universe (MCU). Sony Pictures will thereafter release the next installment of its $4 billion Spider-Man franchise, on July 28, 2017, in a film that will be co-produced by Kevin Feige and his expert team at Marvel and Amy Pascal, who oversaw the franchise launch for the studio 13 years ago. Together, they will collaborate on a new creative direction for the web slinger. Sony Pictures will continue to finance, distribute, own and have final creative control of the Spider-Man films.

Marvel and Sony Pictures are also exploring opportunities to integrate characters from the MCU into future Spider-Man films.

The new relationship follows a decade of speculation among fans about whether Spider-Man – who has always been an integral and important part of the larger Marvel Universe in the comic books – could become part of the Marvel Universe on the big screen. Spider-Man has more than 50 years of history in Marvel’s world, and with this deal, fans will be able to experience Spider-Man taking his rightful place among other Super Heroes in the MCU.

Bob Iger, Chairman and CEO, The Walt Disney Company said: “Spider-Man is one of Marvel’s great characters, beloved around the world. We’re thrilled to work with Sony Pictures to bring the iconic web-slinger into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which opens up fantastic new opportunities for storytelling and franchise building.”

“We always want to collaborate with the best and most successful filmmakers to grow our franchises and develop our characters. Marvel, Kevin Feige and Amy, who helped orchestrate this deal, are the perfect team to help produce the next chapter of Spider-Man,” said Michael Lynton, Chairman and CEO of Sony Pictures Entertainment. “This is the right decision for the franchise, for our business, for Marvel, and for the fans.”

“Sony Pictures and Marvel Studios share a love for the characters in the Spider-Man universe and have a long, successful history of working together. This new level of collaboration is the perfect way to take Peter Parker’s story into the future,” added Doug Belgrad, president, Sony Pictures Entertainment Motion Picture Group.

“I am thrilled to team with my friends at Sony Pictures along with Amy Pascal to produce the next Spider-Man movie,” said Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige. “Amy has been deeply involved in the realization on film of one of the world’s most beloved characters. Marvel’s involvement will hopefully deliver the creative continuity and authenticity that fans demand from the MCU. I am equally excited for the opportunity to have Spider-Man appear in the MCU, something which both we at Marvel, and fans alike, have been looking forward to for years.”

Spider-Man, embraced all over the world, is the most successful franchise in the history of Sony Pictures, with the five films having taken in more than $4 billion worldwide.

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About the Author

Born and raised in Dallas, Mark has been a movie critic since 1994, with reviews featured in print, radio and National TV. In 2001 he started the Entertainment section of the Herorealm website, where he contributed film reviews and celebrity interviews until 2004. After three years of service there, he started Bigfanboy.com, which has become one of the Dallas film community's leading information websites. Bigfanboy hosts several movie screenings in the Texas area, and works closely with film and TV studios and promotional partners to host exciting events and contests. The site also features a variety of rare celebrity and filmmaker interviews, and Bigfanboy.com regularly covers the film festival circuit as well. In addition to Hollywood reporting, Mark has worked for many years as an advertising and sci-fi/comic book artist. Clients have included Lucasfilm Ltd., Topps Trading Cards, The Dallas Mavericks and The Dallas Stars. From 2002 until 2015 he managed the Dallas Comic Con, Sci-Fi Expo and Fan Days events in the DFW area. He currently catalogs rare comic books and movie memorabilia for Heritage Auctions, and runs the Dallas Comic Show conventions, but remains an avid moviegoer and cinema buff.