A mixed bag of good and bad information came out of the Sony hack just a few months ago, including the conversations Marvel and Sony had about the possibility of having Spider-Man in the MCU.

A lot of people were hoping this would turn out to be true since Marvel’s plans for Captain America 3 included the famous “Civil War” story arc that pits Captain America against Iron Man with Spider-Man caught in the middle. Once Sony denied the claim, speculation began about whether or not Paul Rudd’s Ant-Man would fill in for Spidey. Well, let’s put that speculation to bed as, in a somewhat shocking turn of events, it was announced a short time ago that Sony and Marvel have at last made a deal.

That’s right kids… SPIDER-MAN IS OFFICIALLY COMING TO THE MCU!

The deal includes the following;

– Spidey will first be introduced via a Marvel film (most likely Captain America: Civil War).

– Although Sony will retain the rights, have final say on creative decisions, and continue to finance and distribute their own movies, Marvel President Kevin Feige will be co-producing a brand new Spider-Man solo movie with Amy Pascal slated for July 28, 2017. According to the press release, “The duo will collaborate on a new creative direction for the web slinger.”

– The change will also impact Marvel’s current schedule, with Thor: Ragnarok being moved to Nov 3, 2017, Black Panther  now slated for July 6, 2018, Ms. Marvel moved to Nov. 2, 2018 and The Inhumans set for July 12, 2019.

– The announcement also mentioned that Marvel and Sony “are also exploring opportunities to integrate characters from the MCU into future Spider-Man films,” which means we could potentially be seeing familiar faces from the MCU popping up in the upcoming Spidey solo movies.

– About the only negative surrounding the announcement is that the fact that the hugely popular Andrew Garfield will not be reprising his role as Peter Parker in the new joint venture. On the subject of the announcement announcement, Kevin Fiege said “I am thrilled to team with my friends at Sony Pictures along with Amy Pascal to produce the next Spider-Man movie. 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.”

 2017 isn’t that far away which makes you wonder if this new direction for the franchise will have an impact on Sony’s current plans which include a Sinister Six movie scheduled for November 11, 2016, as well as the female-led Spider-Man spin-off and Venom: Carnage movies in 2017.

I’m sure Marvel and Sony will have big announcements to make as we get closer to May 6, 2016 the release date for Captain America: Civil War. But until then it’s a great day for Marvel fans everywhere because this deal brings us one step closer to seeing even more Marvel characters (read: X-Men, Fantastic Four, and Namor) in future Marvel films

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The writer of this piece is: Laurence Almalvez
Laurence has previously written over at Whatculture.com.
Laurence tweets from @IL1511

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