Sony Studios announced last week that they will finally share America's favorite web-slinger with Marvel. In a joint announcement last week, Marvel and Sony finally gave fans the news they’ve been waiting years to hear. Spider-Man will be incorporated into the existing Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) and will finally join the Avengers after years of cinematic separation. |
Some people seem to have misunderstood the nature of Sony’s deal with Marvel. Does Marvel and Kevin Feige now own Peter Parker, like they own Thor or Iron Man?
As a matter of fact, no. Spider-Man still firmly belongs to Sony. Anyone who’s a halfway decent Marvel fan knows that Spider-Man, in the comics, is a member of the Avengers team from time to time. However, Marvel doesn’t actually own the rights to Spider-Man. Sony does. (It’s important to remember that Marvel is itself owned by Disney). For this reason, Spider-Man could never be a part of the cinematic universe in any way, shape, or form before, just as Wolverine can’t appear in the MCU because the X-Men are owned by FOX (stupid copyright laws!). For years fans have been complaining about this, and it seems the head honchos at Sony and Marvel finally paid attention.
As a matter of fact, no. Spider-Man still firmly belongs to Sony. Anyone who’s a halfway decent Marvel fan knows that Spider-Man, in the comics, is a member of the Avengers team from time to time. However, Marvel doesn’t actually own the rights to Spider-Man. Sony does. (It’s important to remember that Marvel is itself owned by Disney). For this reason, Spider-Man could never be a part of the cinematic universe in any way, shape, or form before, just as Wolverine can’t appear in the MCU because the X-Men are owned by FOX (stupid copyright laws!). For years fans have been complaining about this, and it seems the head honchos at Sony and Marvel finally paid attention.
This is how the deal breaks down: Spider-Man is still 100% a property of Sony Pictures Entertainment. Marvel does not own the rights to the character. However, according to the press release, Spider-Man will now be able to participate in the MCU. Sony will be rebooting the Spider-Man franchise once again, with a standalone film coming in July 28, 2017. What’s exciting is that prior to that, Spidey will also be appearing in an MCU movie. The exact movie or nature of the role has not been disclosed, though many speculate he will appear in Captain America: Civil War, since Spidey’s character is central in the comic storyline. For now, though, there are no details, and the thing to focus on is that Spider-Man can now participate in the fabulous cinematic universe that Marvel has created.
But wait…If Sony still has full control of Spider-Man, then how will he be in any Marvel movies? Who’s in charge?? Simple answer: t’s not totally clear. As mentioned above, Sony still fully owns the character; they will be fully responsible for distributing and bankrolling the future Spider-Man standalone films. They will, however, bring in Kevin Feige and Amy Pascal in as producers of the films. Amy Pascal was head executive of Sony, and Kevin Feige is the president of Marvel Studios. He is the guy you should thank for the awesomeness that is the MCU, by the way, so it’s pretty cool (and reassuring) that he will be part of the creative team that reimagines Spider-Man (again). As to who is in charge of Spidey in the MCU movies? That’s a bit more ambiguous. There’s also a bit of discussion about bringing some Marvel characters into the Spider-Man franchise, but there are no details on any of that yet.
But wait…If Sony still has full control of Spider-Man, then how will he be in any Marvel movies? Who’s in charge?? Simple answer: t’s not totally clear. As mentioned above, Sony still fully owns the character; they will be fully responsible for distributing and bankrolling the future Spider-Man standalone films. They will, however, bring in Kevin Feige and Amy Pascal in as producers of the films. Amy Pascal was head executive of Sony, and Kevin Feige is the president of Marvel Studios. He is the guy you should thank for the awesomeness that is the MCU, by the way, so it’s pretty cool (and reassuring) that he will be part of the creative team that reimagines Spider-Man (again). As to who is in charge of Spidey in the MCU movies? That’s a bit more ambiguous. There’s also a bit of discussion about bringing some Marvel characters into the Spider-Man franchise, but there are no details on any of that yet.
What does this mean for the Marvel film slate, which had been settled up to 2019? Well, there will have to be some adjustments. The third Thor film, Thor: Ragnarok, was originally scheduled to release on July 28, 2017; it has now been moved to November 3rd of that same year. Black Panther, which was scheduled for November 3rd, will now be released on July 6, 2017. The Inhumans film will be moved to summer 2019, and Captain Marvel will now be released sometime in November 2018.
All in all, this is pretty exciting news. The large majority of the Marvel fanbase can now rest easy, as one of their favorite characters will be joining the MCU. Also, with Kevin Feige producing, maybe Sony will finally get Spider-Man right. Recently, it was rumored that the studio was looking at Logan Lerman (Percy Jackson, Fury) or Dylan O’Brien (The Maze Runner, Teen Wolf) for the role of Peter Parker. Another rumor making the rounds is that the character will return to high school; does this mean another origin story? Not necessarily, and hopefully they decide to go another route. Although it will be sad to see Andrew Garfield go (in this writer’s opinion his rendition of Spider-Man was fabulous, the quality of Amazing Spider-Man 2 notwithstanding), but this development spells exciting news for the MCU and comic book movie fans in general.
But tell us, what are your thoughts on Marvel and Sony’s announcement?
-Daniella Linares, Editor
All in all, this is pretty exciting news. The large majority of the Marvel fanbase can now rest easy, as one of their favorite characters will be joining the MCU. Also, with Kevin Feige producing, maybe Sony will finally get Spider-Man right. Recently, it was rumored that the studio was looking at Logan Lerman (Percy Jackson, Fury) or Dylan O’Brien (The Maze Runner, Teen Wolf) for the role of Peter Parker. Another rumor making the rounds is that the character will return to high school; does this mean another origin story? Not necessarily, and hopefully they decide to go another route. Although it will be sad to see Andrew Garfield go (in this writer’s opinion his rendition of Spider-Man was fabulous, the quality of Amazing Spider-Man 2 notwithstanding), but this development spells exciting news for the MCU and comic book movie fans in general.
But tell us, what are your thoughts on Marvel and Sony’s announcement?
-Daniella Linares, Editor