Spider-Man is one of Marvel Comics’ most beloved characters but has yet to share the big screen with other heroes of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. All that has changed as an agreement has been struck to allow Spider-Man to finally appear in a series of films, which will allow certain story lines to flourish.
Sony Pictures Entertainment and Marvel Studios announced the deal Monday (Feb. 9), delighting fans of the comics and films alike. Although it seemed that the tensions over the rights of Spider-Man have cooled between the major players, the official news of the union now certifies that the web-slinger can finally appear with any of the MCU’s characters – except for the Fantastic Four and X-Men, which are owned by 20th Century Fox.
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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.
Spider-Man is Sony Pictures most successful franchise, earning a whopping $4 billion worldwide. There’s no official word whether or not Peter Parker/Spider-Man will be played by Andrew Garfield, who has starred as the hero in the past two films of the Sony reboot.
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Photo: Marvel
