Scene from ‘Spider-Man Homecoming’
Source: Sony Pictures
Welcome back to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man.
Sony and Walt Disney on Friday announced Marvel Studios will produce a third standalone Spider-Man film starring Peter Parker himself, Tom Holland. As part of the arrangement, Spider-Man will also appear in future Marvel Studios films.
The news was incredibly well-received by fans, who were told only a few weeks ago that Sony had closed the door on a potential partnership with Marvel Studios. But Spider-Man’s return to the MCU is not the only news that has fans buzzing.
For starters, there is the yet-to-be-disclosed MCU film that Spider-Man will appear in. In the past, Peter Parker has appeared in team-up films “Captain America: Civil War,” “Avengers: Infinity War” and “Avengers: Endgame.”
Fans have begun speculating about what this film could be. Another Avengers film? A team up with the Eternals? Or perhaps, a run-in with the devil of Hell’s Kitchen, Matt Murdock?
“I don’t think I’m alone in saying that everyone wants him to team up with Daredevil,” Jeremy Conrad, founder and editor-in-chief of MCU Cosmic, said. “The two have a history in the comics and meet up all the time.”
Daredevil would be a natural inclusion in future Spider-Man films, especially after Peter Parker’s identity was revealed to the world during a post-credit scene in “Spider-Man: Far From Home.” Spider-Man could use another superhero friend and, probably, a lawyer.
“I think this is amazing news for a Spider-Man fan and a Marvel movie fan,” Erik Davis, managing editor of Fandango, said. “This gives Marvel a chance to pay off what they set up at the end of ‘Far From Home,’ and the deal also gives them the chance to use Tom Holland’s Spider-Man in another Marvel movie — potentially to help introduce one of the new Fox characters. I’d personally love to see the web-slinger in a Fantastic Four movie, and now there’s more of a chance of that becoming a reality.”
When Disney closed it $71 billion acquisition of Fox back in March, it gained control back of Marvel characters that had been sold off in the ’90s. That includes the entire X-Men catalog of heroes and villains, Deadpool and The Fantastic Four.
Marvel head Kevin Feige has already teased that Deadpool and the Fantastic Four are going to enter the Marvel Cinematic Universe at point. The Fantastic Four — made up of Reed Richards (Mr. Fantastic), Sue Storm (Invisible Woman), Johnny Storm (The Human Torch) and Ben Grimm (The Thing) — has a headquarters in New York.
Also, Spider-Man has teamed-up with Deadpool on multiple occasions in the comics. Deadpool, aka Wade Wilson, is a disfigured mercenary with the ability of accelerated healing. He is known for his foul mouth and penchant for breaking the fourth wall. He was featured in two R-rated films and played by Ryan Reynolds.
But wait, there’s more
But that’s not the only thing Feige has teased.
In a statement Friday, Feige said, “[Spider-Man] also happens to be the only hero with the superpower to cross cinematic universes, so as Sony continues to develop their own Spidey-verse you never know what surprises the future might hold.”
To be sure, it’s a very cryptic statement, but suggests that Sony and Marvel are on very good terms and have discussed the possibility of more movies or chances for partnership.
After all, “Spider-Man: Far From Home” has become Sony’s highest-grossing film of all time, thanks, in part, to Holland’s performance and Marvel’s contributions. Continuing to do crossovers with Marvel could be a lucrative investment for Sony.
Sony has already said it plans on developing between five and six TV shows set in Spider-Man’s universe and will be producing a sequel to the Oscar-winning “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” animated feature.
“Spider-Verse” shined a light on other iterations of Spider-Man including Miles Morales and Spider-Gwen. Miles is a young kid from Brooklyn who gets bitten by a radioactive spider, just like Peter Parker, but decides not to be a hero. However, after Spider-Man dies, he takes on the mantle and continues Peter’s legacy.
Spider-Gwen is the result of asking the question: what if Gwen Stacy was bitten by the radioactive spider instead of Peter Parker? The answer: she becomes Spider-Woman.
Both characters have huge fan bases and could easily work in live-action films that are not connected to Marvel.
