After much speculation and deliberation between both parties, last night brought news of an agreement between Sony and Marvel over Spider-Man which would see the webcrawler return to the latter company ahead of an appearance in the ever-evolving Marvel Cinematic Universe. Such a deal means that the studio will also help Sony finance and produce Spidey’s next solo outing, which is slated for 2017.
But before all of that, The Wall Street Journal has shed more light on the minutia of the long-rumoured partnership, stating that Spider-Man‘s first appearance in Marvel’s on-screen canon will in all likelihood be Captain America: Civil War come 2016. Now, some of you may be apprehensive about the timing of this purported role, as it doesn’t give the creative team an awful lot of time to adjust its strategy; still, according to the WSJ’s report, Civil War represents the perfect touching point for Marvel’s new addition to the family.
However, Sony and Marvel’s new-fangled arrangement set more than one ripple in motion. In fact, many had gone on to assume that Spider-Man’s appearance in the MCU would cast doubt over the long-gestating Sinister Six movie, though it seems that Sony is merely rethinking its method of approach, rather than scrapping the villain-centric premise in its entirety.
“The studio will rethink its approach to the film, which remains in development, in light of the new agreement with Marvel.”
With Iron Man and Cap on board, Captain America: Civil War was already shaping up to be one of the most tantalizing properties on Marvel’s upcoming slate — one with enough clout to force Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice to shift to March — but the possibility that Spider-Man could join the action only makes us more excited for the upcoming threequel.