There’s long overdue things, and then there’s this. Despite wholly owning the film rights to the character – a move which surely bristles at the back of the neck of Marvel studio executives – Sony Pictures Entertainment has announced an unprecedented partnership with Marvel Studios to put Spider-Man into the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Now that you’ve all taken a moment to control your hyperventilation, we’ll continue.
The deal involves a fair amount of collaboration between the studios, with Marvel Studios‘ producer Kevin Feige to get on board with the next stand-alone instalment in the rebooted The Amazing Spider-Man series, which is due for release in 2017. This will be done in conjunction with Amy Pascal, who first launched the Spider-Man franchise for Sony 13 years ago. This stand-alone film will still fall under the umbrella of Sony.
But where things get really interesting is the revelation that Spider-Man will first be appearing in a Marvel film for the Marvel Cinematic Universe – which, if the timelines are accurate, mean that Spider-Man will in all likelihood show up in Captain America: Civil War, or Doctor Strange, both of which are due for release in 2016. It seems unlikely at this stage that there’s room for him in either Avengers: Age of Ultron or Ant-Man, given the deal was announced today and those films looming release dates are a mere matter of months away. But with that said, it’s certainly not out of the question for a bookend for the film to be tacked on at the end of the credits.
The deal also apparently includes a commitment to exploring options of getting characters from the MCU into The Amazing Spider-Man franchise for Sony, meaning it’s a swinging door deal rather than a one-way street.
Bob Igor, chairman and CEO of The Walt Disney Company – Marvel’s parent organisation – stated “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.”
Meanwhile Doug Belgrad, President of Sony Pictures Entertainment Motion Picture Group, reciprocated the excitement, “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.“
Time to get excited, kids. The web-slinger’s coming home.
Photo and Story via Marvel.com.
