Spider-Man is coming home. As announced via press release late Monday, Sony and Disney-owned Marvel Studios will produce the next iteration of Spider-Man on the big screen. The beloved character -- who has lived at Sony since Sam Raimi's "Spider-Man" in 2002 -- will appear in an upcoming Marvel Cinematic Universe feature for Disney, before getting his own Sony movie on July 28, 2017. Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige and outgoing Sony Pictures co-chair Amy Pascal will produce the new film. According to BuzzFeed, current Spider-Man star Andrew Garfield will not return.
"Spider-Man is one of Marvel's great characters, beloved around the world. We're thrilled to work with Sony Pictures to bring the iconic web-slinger into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which opens up fantastic new opportunities for storytelling and franchise building," Bob Iger, Disney chairman and CEO, said in a release.
"We always want to collaborate with the best and most successful filmmakers to grow our franchises and develop our characters. Marvel, Kevin Feige and Amy, who helped orchestrate this deal, are the perfect team to help produce the next chapter of Spider-Man," Michael Lynton, chairman and CEO of Sony Pictures Entertainment, said. "This is the right decision for the franchise, for our business, for Marvel, and for the fans."
Some kind of collaboration between the two studios had been rumored for months, with the hope being that Spider-Man would appear in "Captain America: Civil War." (That speculation was confirmed after Pascal's emails leaked online as part of the cyber attack against Sony in December.) Neither Sony nor Marvel revealed what film Spider-Man would join before getting his own reboot. But assuming Marvel's two 2015 films, "Avengers: Age of Ultron" and "Ant-Man," are off limits, it can be one of three movies: "Captain America: Civil War" (May 6, 2016), "Doctor Strange" (Nov. 4, 2016) or "Guardians of the Galaxy 2" (May 5, 2017).
"I am thrilled to team with my friends at Sony Pictures along with Amy Pascal to produce the next Spider-Man movie," Feige said in a statement. "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."
The arrival of a new Spider-Man film on July 28, 2017 caused a domino effect among Marvel's Phase 3 slate. "Thor: Ragnarok" was originally set to open on that date, but will now arrive on Nov. 3, 2017. "Black Panther," which had been set for Nov. 3, 2017, shifted to July 6, 2018. That bumped "Captain Marvel" to Nov. 2, 2018, which in turn moved "Inhumans" to July 12, 2019. Mark your calendars accordingly.
For the full Spider-Man press release, head to Marvel.com.
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