Back in February,Marvelfinally made the announcement fans have been waiting years to hear, thatSpider-Manis finally joining theMarvel Cinematic Universe. Under the terms of this deal, the new Spidey will first appear in aMarvelmovie, confirmed to beCaptain America: Civil War, beforeMarvel’sKevin FeigeSony’sAmy Pascalteam up to produce aSpider-Manreboot through Sony Pictures, set for release on August 26, 2025. It’s been long believed that the new Spidey,Tom Holland, will only have a cameo inCaptain America: Civil War, butKevin Feigerevealed during a Q&A session (viaIGN) that the studio has much greater plans in store for the web slinger.
“Making that agreement … was great, and was really amazing, and on a personal level making these movies, it means a lot because I think we can do great things withSpider-Man. I thinkSpider-Mancan serve great purpose in our universe and that’s where he belongs. That was what was unique about him in the comics was not that he was the only superhero in the world; it’s that he was a totally different kind of superhero when compared against all the other ones in the Marvel universe at the time.”
Long before the deal was announced, rumors swirled thatMarvelwas trying to acquire theSpider-Manrights, after Sony’s failed reboot attempt withThe Amazing Spider-ManandThe Amazing Spider-Man 2. Instead of acquiring the character rights in full, a deal was struck that allowedMarvelto useSpider-Manin their movies, while Sony would retain distribution rights for the new reboot and future stand aloneSpider-Manprojects. When asked about how the web slinger would be incorporated into the MCU so late in the game,Kevin Feigerevealed they always had a plan in place, should they get the rights to this beloved character, while stressing that their main focus forSpider-Manis the new stand alone movie.
“This has been a dream of ours for a long time. We always had contingency plans, which we always do anyway. Are we going to be able to make another deal with this actor? If so, we’re going to do this; if not, we’re going to do this. If we get the rights to a certain character, that’s great; we’re going to do this. If not, we’re going to do this. We always sort of operate under those various alternate timelines available and ready to shift if something happens. The most important thing as a standalone is relaunchingSpider-Manin his own standalone movie with his own storylines that fits into this universe. That is job number one for us. The connectivity is great, but it doesn’t drive the train.”
Even before the inclusion ofSpider-Man,Captain America: Civil Warwas already shaping up to be a massive affair. When production started in May, the studio released an official cast list, which was even bigger than most fans' expectations. Along with almost all of theAvengers, old and new, except forThor(Chris Hemsworth) andHulk(Mark Ruffalo), this adventure will includePaul RuddasAnt-Man,Chadwick Bosemanas T’Challa/Black Panther,Emily VanCampas Sharon Carter/Agent 13,Daniel BrühlasBaron Zemo,Frank Grilloas Brock Rumlow/Crossbones,William Hurtas General Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross andMartin Freemanin an unidentified role. Despite this massive cast,Kevin Feigerevealed thatCaptain America: Civil Waris, in essence, a “simple” story that manages to give each character enough to do.
“There were a lot of characters in The Winter Soldier, but it felt like a very singular and relatively simple thriller. Civil War follows in that same way. I think that’s something [directors Joe and Anthony Russo] pride themselves on, and our screenwriters Chris Markus and Steve McFeely are excellent at giving each character just enough. They’re not full arcs for everybody; it’s just enough that their presence is felt and important, but that the very clear single story that is being told is being served at all times.”
What do you think Marvel may be planning forSpider-Manin the MCU? The stand alone reboot is slated for release in July 2017, which means the character could be established enough to join Earth’s Mightiest Heroes again inAvengers: Infinity War Part IandAvengers: Infinity War - Part II, hitting theaters in 2018 and 2019, respectively. We won’t find out for sure ifSpider-Manwill be a part of this two-part adventure for quite some time, so stay tuned for more details.
