Can Spider-Man come out to play? Yes! YES. HE. CAN. After all the rumors, leaks, and speculations Sony Pictures has finally struck a deal for the web-slinger to join the big leagues in Marvel’s Cinematic Universe. With producers, both, Kevin Feige and Amy Pascal behind the wheel, it has been confirmed that not only will Peter Parker appear in an MCU film, but Spidey will also be getting another reboot. Find out the full details after the break.

Under this new game plan, Spider-Man will first appear in an upcoming MCU film. We speculate that this may be Captain America: Civil War, the story-arc that predominately features Spider-Man in the middle of a little dispute between Tony Stark and Steve Rogers over a superhero registration law. Marvel’s camp has been pining for this moment and they could carry it out. Now that Marvel has Spidey at their disposal, I’m sure they’ll want to integrate the character into this shared universe as soon as possible. Civil War would be the prime opportunity to introduce him in a big way.

Among the chaos of the Sony hack, it was rumored that Andrew Garfield would no longer portray Peter Parker. It would only make sense now so that moviegoers would not become confused with Garfield’s portrayal in The Amazing Spider-Man and this new version. Civil War releases on May 6, 2016. Casting would need to begin immediately for the studio to stay on schedule with Phase 3. Who could get into shape and portray the wall-crawler this quickly?

Black Panther is also being introduced in Civil War, and that could potentially clog up the film. Maybe he won’t even have a big part. Or perhaps he won’t even show up at all and could appear in Doctor Strange, in theaters on November 4, 2016. This is highly unlikely as the events of Doctor Strange’s origins have little to nothing to do with Spider-Man or Peter Parker despite their path’s crossing on many occasions.

Whatever’s the case, it’s as if Sony has finally seen the errors of their ways after the horrendous Amazing Spider-Man 2 – my review – which is the poorest grossing film of the franchise. They have had their fun with the character and screwed him up enough that this is just the first step in making amends with the fans. Michael Lynton, Chairman and CEO of Sony Pictures Entertainment had this to say about the deal:

“We always want to collaborate with the best and most successful filmmakers to grow our franchises and develop our characters. Marvel, Kevin Feige and Amy, who helped orchestrate this deal, are the perfect team to help produce the next chapter of Spider-Man. This is the right decision for the franchise, for our business, for Marvel, and for the fans.”

Along with this reintroduction of the acclaimed web-head, on July 28, 2017 there will be a new standalone Spider-Man film. This project will be co-produced by Marvel’s Kevin Feige alongside Amy Pascal, who has worked exclusively with the property for the past 13 years. They are collaborating to develop a new creative direction for the character to fit into the MCU.

Sony Pictures will continue to finance, distribute, own, and have final creative control of the Spider-Man films. But in the wake of this new agreement, Marvel Studios and Sony are exploring opportunities to integrate their characters into the Spider-Man films to maintain continuity throughout Phase 3. Marvel Studios’ President Kevin Feige had a few choice words of his own regarding this breaking news:

“I am thrilled to team with my friends at Sony Pictures along with Amy Pascal to produce the next Spider-Man movie. Amy has been deeply involved in the realization on film of one of the world’s most beloved characters. Marvel’s involvement will hopefully deliver the creative continuity and authenticity that fans demand from the MCU. I am equally excited for the opportunity to have Spider-Man appear in the MCU, something which both we at Marvel, and fans alike, have been looking forward to for years.”

As many fans may be aware, after Marvel’s big Phase 3 announcement last year, July 28, 2017 was the original release date for Thor: Ragnaork. Now that Spider-Man has entered the arena, Thor and the heroes whom have not been introduced yet – Black Panther, Captain Marvel, and the Inhumans – will have their upcoming films pushed back to later dates.

According to Ben Fritz of the Wall Street Journal [UPDATED: Marvel confirms dates], Thor: Ragnarok will take Black Panther’s release date on November 3, 2017; Black Panther will have his own movie on August 6, 2018; Captain Marvel is taking the Inhuman’s release date of November 2, 2018; and the Inhumans will premiere on August 12, 2019 – now after Avengers: Infinity War Part 2, in theaters May 3, 2019.

With that said, we can basically assume that Sony is scrapping all plans to release Sinister Six, the all female Spider-Man characters film, and of course the rumored Aunt May movie.

And what could be even more great news is J.K. Simmons could return as J. Jonah Jameson. In an interview with Howard Stern, the actor said he’d be more than happy to reprise the role as Peter Parker’s boss at the Daily Bugle and President of the Anti-Spider-Man fan club. This would be one casting announcement that could break the Internet.

One thing’s for sure, my April Fools’ Day joke last year wasn’t too far off.

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Source: Marvel and Ben Fritz of The Wall Street Journal [