Spider-Man wasn't in Marvel's big Phase Three announcement. But does that mean he's not appearing in Marvel movies?
Just doing a bit of mopping up work following Marvel's big announcement of its raft of upcoming movies last night. You can read all about that here.
One name that didn't crop up in the presentation given by Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige was that of Spider-Man. It had been rumoured that Sony was in negotiations with Marvel regarding crossing the character of Spider-Man over into the likes of The Avengers. Furthermore, with Marvel bringing the Civil War storyline from the comic books to the screen, there's a role for Spider-Man in that, if the assorted corporate shenanigans could be sorted.
Well, if they have been sorted, Marvel and Sony aren't saying so. In fact, Kevin Feige was asked directly at his presentation whether the rumours of Spider-Man coming into the Marvel Studios world in any capacity were true. Feige, intriguingly, didn't rule it out. "Anything that wasn't specifically and obviously revealed today is either not true at all, or still rumor until it's worked out."
Might we suggest this falls into the latter camp? It's little secret that Sony is retooling its Spider-Man movie universe plans, and it's at the point where it needs Marvel more than Marvel movies arguably need Spider-Man. However, there are benefits to both of crossing the character over, and there are plenty of announcements last night that Feige didn't make, that are expected to still happen. The casting of Benedict Cumberbatch as Doctor Strange for one.
We'll wait and see then. But Feige had a chance to slam the door on the Spider-Man rumours last night and chose not to take it. Might be something, might be nothing. We'll find out in the years ahead...
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