The friendly neighborhood Spider-Man has found himself a new address. The agile superhero is the subject of an enormous deal between Sony and Marvel that was announced late Monday, Feb. 9.
Originally a Marvel Comics character, Spider-Man has made his way onto the big screen in recent years through Sony films. Sony Pictures Entertainment led the Tobey Maguire-starring Spider-Man trilogy in the early 2000s, as well as the recent Amazing Spider-Man revival with Andrew Garfield in the lead role.
The comic book company was able to strike a deal with Sony to bring the character back into Marvel Universe for upcoming projects. According to a release from Marvel, "the new Spider-Man will first appear in a Marvel film from Marvel's Cinematic Universe," and "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."
This also marks a new project for Pascal, who stepped down from her top position at Sony last week after famously falling from grace in a series of incriminating emails leaked in the widespread hack of Sony Pictures Entertainment.
"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," Sony Pictures Entertainment Motion Picture Group President Doug Belgrad said in a release. "This new level of collaboration is the perfect way to take Peter Parker's story into the future."
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Garfield will not be continuing his run as Parker. The role is expected to be recast for the upcoming project, and Marvel is reportedly looking to bring Spider-Man into its vast superhero fray.
The company has seen huge success with superhero collaborations in the past such as 2014's Guardians of the Galaxy, which made more than $774 million at the worldwide box office, and 2012's The Avengers, which broke records with its total $1.5 billion gross.
