Sony Pictures is finally giving Spider-Man back to Marvel. Given the less-than-stellar performance of 2014’s Amazing Spider-Man 2, everyone thought that Sony might be selling Spidey back to Marvel. Instead, they did something that no one saw coming: opting to lease the rights of its Spider-Man franchise to Marvel for one film.
Under the deal, the new Spider-Man will first appear in a Marvel film from Marvel’s Cinematic Universe (MCU) and will be co-produced by Kevin Feige and Amy Pascal, who stepped down from an executive to a producer role last week on The Amazing Spider-Man and other titles, following continued hacks last November. Pascal oversaw the franchise launch for the studio 13 years ago, and now, together with Feige, will collaborate on a new creative direction for the web-slinger.
“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.”
Marvel has been trying to get the rights to Spider-Man back from Sony for years. But Sony decided to keep its $4 billion franchise in-house, quite possibly because they currently have no solid franchises of their own. Marvel and Sony Pictures are also exploring opportunities to integrate characters from the MCU into future Spider-Man films.
The new relationship follows fans hoping for years that whether or not Spider-Man – who has more than 50 years of history with Marvel Comics, and has always been an important part of the Marvel Universe – could finally become part of the larger Marvel Universe on the big screen. With this deal, fans will be able to experience Spider-Man taking his rightful place among other Super Heroes in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
“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,” said Doug Belgrad, president of Sony Pictures.
Sony Pictures will release their next Spider-Man film on July 28, 2017, one year earlier than originally planned (back in July, Sony moved from a 2016 to 2018 release date). The studio is currently looking for a much younger actor than 31-year-old Andrew Garfield, who most recently played the superhero, as well as a writer for the reboot. In addition to Garfield being out of the franchise, director Marc Webb will not be back to complete a third film for The Amazing Spider-Man. Producers Matt Tolmach and Avi Arad have been downgraded to executive producers, with no real say in the creative direction of the franchise, as Sony Pictures will themselves continue to finance, distribute, own and have final creative control of the Spider-Man films.
20th Century Fox currently still has the rights to the X-Men and the Fantastic Four, with a new Fantastic Four film coming this summer. Those characters are just as important as The Amazing Spider-Man in the Marvel Universe, but for now, it seems that they’ll remain separate in the movies – until they stop making money, at least.
