FINALLY, after months of negotiations and years of audience demand, Spider-Man is now a part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Marvel has never been able to use the iconic wall-crawler in their films because Sony purchased the movie rights in 1999.
The deal was announced late Monday night as a partnership between Marvel Studios and Sony where Spider-Man will appear in a Marvel Studios film, which will see him rub shoulders with The Avengers. Also, four of Marvel’s Phase 3 films have been pushed back as a new Spider-Man movie opens in theaters on July 28, 2017.
Sony has fumbled the ball with this franchise since 2007, with The Amazing Spider-Man 2 being the last straw. An e-mail from the “Sony Hack” revealed that Marvel president Alan Fine was highly critical of Sony’s script two years before the movie’s release.
“This story is way too dark, way too depressing. I wanted to burn the draft after reading it never mind never thinking about buying the DVD.” said Fine. He went on to say, “I have a major issue with the overall strategic direction they are taking with the Spider-Man franchise” and finished his thoughts, stating, “3 villains? Give me a break.”
All of these points are what garnered most of the film’s criticism.
The one sad note about this news is that Andrew Garfield is no longer Spider-Man since the role will be recast. TASM movies had a lot of problems, but Garfield wasn’t one of them. Unfortunately, he represents a failed series of films, and it’s best if Marvel distances themselves as far as possible from the stink.
Marvel didn’t need to make this deal; they wanted to. Spider-Man is their most popular character, and not being able to use him in their films would be equivalent to DC Comics being unable to use Batman in their movies. A fresh start will be captained by Marvel Studio president Kevin Feige and Sony’s Amy Pascal, but let’s be real, Feige will make the important creative decisions.
When will Spider-Man appear in the MCU? All fingers point to Captain America: Civil War scheduled for a May 3, 2016 release. The film is based on the popular comic book event where heroes opposed each other over the superhuman registration act.
Spider-Man plays a pivotal role in that story where he is stuck between both sides of the conflict. It appeared that Black Panther was slotted to fill that role; however, Spidey is the crown jewel, and it wouldn’t feel right without him.
The possibilities of this arrangement are endless. The Spider-Man franchise has a plethora of characters in its portfolio that could also wind up in the MCU. Maybe we could finally see Miles Morales on the big screen if we keep asking nicely. Oh, I can just imagine it now: Peter Parker exchanging sarcastic science barbs with Tony Stark would be a beautiful thing.
Ringside Logic 