Yes, indeed, Spider-Man is officially coming to the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Sony Pictures and Marvel Studios have come to terms on their long standing deal (source). But where does this leave us going forward?
I'm a relatively big fan of the more recent version of Spider-Man, and Andrew Garfield. Though I will openly admit that The Amazing Spider-Man 2 was terrible. It was almost as if Sony wanted to make three movies, and instead decided to make one, there was too much going on, the script was horrendous, and the only saving graces were Garfield and Stone. We definitely won't be getting any more of Stone, Garfield is (sort of) up to interpretation.
"Under the deal, the new Spider-Man will first appear in a Marvel film from Marvel's Cinematic Universe (MCU). Sony Pictures will thereafter release the next installment of its $4 billion Spider-Man franchise, on July 28, 2017, in a film that will be co-produced by Kevin Feige and his expert team at Marvel and Amy Pascal, who oversaw the franchise launch for the studio 13 years ago."It's the use of "the new Spider-Man" that initially confuses me. I'm not sure if this means we get a new actor playing the role, or if they mean Andrew Garfield when they say "new Spider-Man." I'm going to go with the former, because that's the only option that really makes sense in this situation. Marvel likely does not want the continuity of the previous two films to be canon with their Spider-Man going forward, so I assume they would have fought tooth and nail to get a different actor, and essentially reboot the franchise without an origin story. I'm also concerned with Sony's involvement in the franchise. Yes, they own the rights, but they have proven that they don't know what they are doing with it, just look at how bloated TAS2 was.
Sony being involved, even in the slightest creatively, has me worried, and nothing anyone says can sway me otherwise.
"Together, they (Feige and Pascal) will collaborate on a new creative direction for the web slinger. Sony Pictures will continue to finance, distribute, own and have final creative control of the Spider-Man films."
"Final creative Control..."
Final.
Creative.
Control.
But, why? Why would Marvel agree to these terms? This could (I repeat, could) give Sony the ability to fuck it all up again. Nobody wants another Spider-Man 3, and nobody wants another The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (granted I will take the latter over the former any day). But this will be Spider-Man's third reboot, in a fifteen year time period. Let that sink in, the people responsible for fucking up the original trilogy, and the reboot of the franchise, still have final say in what goes into these movies. Granted, Marvel could just walk out if Sony refuses to hear them out. Shit this is bad. This is so bad.
"Marvel and Sony Pictures are also exploring opportunities to integrate characters from the MCU into future Spider-Man films."
Let's just hold out hope that they choose to do something new and unique with Spider-Man, like I don't know, Miles Morales.
"Sony Pictures and Marvel Studios share a love for the characters in the Spider-Man universe and have a long, successful history of working together. This new level of collaboration is the perfect way to take Peter Parker's story into the future," added Doug Belgrad, president, Sony Pictures Entertainment Motion Picture Group."Peter Parker's story." But, Why still do this? I get it, we never got a "good" Peter Parker, but we don't need one. We really don't. We just need someone that people can relate to. Being a nerd isn't exactly a "stigma" any more. Sure they still get picked on and bullied, but so do most people. Nerds used to have it rough, rougher than most, but that seems to be on a turn around where everyone seems to be having a shit time. Save a few people here and there. But Miles Morales, a half-African American half-Hispanic kid, that's not only interesting, but opens up who can relate to Spider-Man to a whole new set of people. That's not to say that African Americans or Hispanics can't relate to Peter, but it would be a lot easier for them to relate to Miles than Peter for sure. Not to mention his costume is amazing.
Not to mention the talent that could play Miles. Some personal favorite of mine for the role include Donald Glover (who was rumored to have inspired the character), John Boyega, Tyler James Williams, or some relatively unknown player. Marvel's good with casting, so I'd trust their decision.
If, now this is a big if, the direction Marvel is planning on going is to introduce a Peter Parker and kill him off for Miles to be his successor, I wouldn't mind that at all, especially if that is how they plan on continuing with Garfield's Parker if Sony is forcing them to keep that continuity. But a new, strong, Peter Parker for a few movies being replaced by a fresh Miles Morales is a, in my opinion, fantastic idea.
Lets return now, back to that first quote:
"Under the deal, the new Spider-Man will first appear in a Marvel film from Marvel's Cinematic Universe (MCU)."This new Spider-Man, whoever it may be will first appear in an MCU film. Time to speculate as to which one it will be. There are two obvious candidates.
Special thanks to this guy for this Civil War poster.
If I had to put money on it, I'd say the appearance will happen only in Civil War, and Black Panther's role will be reduced. I've heard rumors that they had Spider-Man scripts at the ready for Civil War in case the deal happened, so we more than likely will see him there. But there is a chance it will happen in Age of Ultron, but the only way it will happen there is post credits. Likely just a tease with no dialogue, we see him swing across the screen or something which will tease the actual appearance, with dialogue, in Civil War.
This whole thing also shakes up some release dates (Source). That's right, folks, the old schedule is no longer official, and the changes are ridiculous.
Spidey takes the spot of Thor: Ragnarok. Then each succeeding movie takes the next movies spot, Save Infinity War (Parts I and II) and Inhumans, which gets a shiny new release date. What I particularly dislike are the date changes for Black Panther and Inhumans (though I can live with the latter). The date jump is insane. Black Panther moves from November 2017 to July 2018, that's an eight month delay. Same with Inhumans, just a year later."Marvel’s “Thor: Ragnarok” will hit theaters November 3, 2017. The following year, Marvel’s “Black Panther” will make its way to theaters on July 6, 2018, and Marvel’s “Captain Marvel” on November 2, 2018. Finally, Marvel’s “Inhumans” will now debut in theaters July 12, 2019."
Look, I get that for some reason you like May, July, and November Marvel. But Winter Soldier released in April, hell it released in March everywhere else. All you had to do was Move Thor: Ragnarok to November 3, 2017 spot and push Black Panther to Quarter one 2018, and nothing else would have had to change. A January, February, or March release will not hurt you, or did you forget that Winter Soldier was such a success?
I'll just have to deal with it I guess. Marvel's going to do whatever they want, and they're going to do it well, regardless of release date. Further, these several month gaps could allow for a bit more fine tuning to the respective films, so all in all, these waits could be a very good thing. Only time will tell.
Next time, The year of 2014, in film.
Sources used:
- Sony Pictures Entertainment Brings Marvel Studios Into The Amazing World Of Spider-Man
- Marvel Studios Schedules New Release Dates for 4 Films
- 2014 WORLDWIDE GROSSES
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