Sony and Marvel have announced a deal that will bring Spider-Man into the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
This will mean big changes for the future of the MCU and the future of the Spider-Man franchise alike.
The new deal will give Spider-Man a cameo in an unspecified film from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, after which Sony Pictures will release the next installment of the $4 billion Spider-Man franchise. Kevin Feige from Marvel, and Amy Pascal, an executive at Sony who oversaw the development of the franchise 13 years ago, will produce this film.
The news will have a significant impact on the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
The MCU is essentially the universe that Marvel characters from movies and TV shows live in, with the most famous example of them co-interacting being in the Avengers.
In fact, it is highly likely that Spider-Man will eventually appear in an Avengers film, being part of the Avengers team in the comics. Of course Spidey won't appear in the next Avengers film, which has already been filmed and is set to be released on May 1 this year, but he could very possibly make an appearance in the third Avengers film.
He could also, however, appear before that, in the third Captain America film, titled Captain America: Civil War.
In the comic book world, Spider-Man is a big part of the Civil War storyline. In fact, Spidey actually unmasks himself during the story.
That brings us to another question: who will play the man behind the mask? If Spider-Man does end up unmasking himself during the Civil War time frame, it would be a little random for us to see an actor we've never seen play Peter Parker before.
Unfortunately, according to the recent rumors, it seems as though Andrew Garfield, the Pete Parker that we all know and love from the last two Spider-Man films, won't be putting on the Spidey suit from now on. Given the fact that Spider-Man plays such a big part in the Civil War storyline, it will be interesting to see how he is handled as a part of the MCU without having his own origins film to lay the framework for a new Spider-Man.
Another movie that was expected from Sony was the Sinister Six, which basically follows six Spider-Man villains, but it has been delayed. It is unclear whether this film will integrate with others in the MCU or if the characters in the film will make any appearances in other Marvel movies.
