The recent Sony Hack has resulted in, among other things, leaked documents that suggest Marvel was trying to court the studio in hopes that they would allow Spider-Man to show up in Captain America: Civil War.
For those who don’t know, despite being a Marvel character, Sony currently holds the rights to Spidey, meaning that he can’t be included in the Marvel Cinematic Universe without their consent. According to a report from WSJ, however, Sony head Amy Pascal had been speaking with Marvel/Walt Disney owner Robert Iger about the possibility of having the webslinger appear in Cap’s next adventure. Unfortunately, though, it’s believed that the talks (despite coming close to being a reality) broke down and at least for the time being, Spidey will stay firmly in Sony’s pocket.
It’s a shame that things didn’t work out, as Spider-Man is a crucial part of the Civil War plot in the comics. He initially begins on Iron Man’s side but ultimately, ends up siding with Cap. Not only that, but at the end of the first issue, he reveals his true identity, which ultimately leads to Aunt May being shot.
Many fans thought that Sony would allow Marvel to use the character for Cap’s third outing and were hoping that the two parties would reach a deal. Imagine how exciting it would be to watch Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans and Andrew Garfield all square off against each other. For whatever reason though, it looks as if Sony won’t give in and unfortunately, we won’t be seeing Spidey in Civil War.
Another thing that the two studios discussed was a Marvel-produced trilogy of Spider-Man movies. If this panned out, Sony would have retained “creative control, marketing and distribution.” Like the Captain America: Civil War talks, though, this didn’t end up working out either.