Marvel Studios and Sony Pictures Entertainment allegedly held discussions over including Spider-Man in the former’s cinematic universe.
This revelation was made because of the recent hacking at Sony Pictures Entertainment. The Wall Street Journal has documented the emails that were exchanged between Marvel and Sony that proposed the intended crossover.
It’s quite surprising how prolonged the discussions between Sony and Marvel were over the subject. Executives at both Sony and Marvel’s owner, Walt Disney, were involved in negotiations and they even included Sony’s chief executive, Kaz Hirai, and Disney’s Robert Iger too. In fact, Sony’s motion picture chief, Amy Pascal, was also included in the email exchange too.
But what did these emails actually entail? Well, in an email that was sent as recently as October 30, Sony Pictures president Doug Belgrad told Amy Pascal that one hypothetical scenario would see Marvel produce a new trilogy of Spider-Man films. However, Sony would still possess the “creative control, marketing and distribution” for the films.
It was at this point that Pascal revealed that Marvel wanted Spider-Man to be involved in Captain America: Civil War.
The third solo instalment to Steve Rogers’ adventure is hugely anticipated. Not only will it pick up from where the reportedly explosive Avengers: Age Of Ultron is set to leave off, but it will also incorporate the much loved Civil War comic-book story line into its narrative. Plus, it will also feature Chadwick Boseman as the Black Panther and Robert Downey Jr’s Iron Man too.
However, unfortunately for Marvel fans across the world who have longed for Peter Parker to be included in Marvel’s Cinematic Universe, these talks eventually broke down.
So where does this leave Sony’s Spider-Man franchise? In a little bit of turmoil, actually. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 was released earlier this summer and it only received mixed reviews from critics and fans alike, while it also failed to set the box office alight too. This is despite the fact that it grossed $709 million at the worldwide box office.
According to experts, Sony is now set to progress with its own Spider-Man franchise. This is expected to include The Amazing Spider-Man 3 , which was delayed until 2018 earlier this year.
Executives are set to figure out the finer details regarding the franchises when they hold a “Spidey summit” in January. It’s still not certain whether the planned Sinister Six and Venom spin-off films are still scheduled to be shot and released. As long as the previously touted Aunt May film doesn’t happen though, most Spider-Man fans will be happy.
[Image via Sony]