It's Official: Spider-Man Will Appear With Marvel Superheroes

By Kamal Nayan - 10 Feb '15 00:49AM

Spider-Man is now part of Marvel's Cinematic Universe, Marvel Entertainment announced Monday. Under the deal, "the new Spider-man" will first appear in an upcoming Marvel Cinematic Universe film (untitled), followed by the Spider-Man's own new film opening July 28th, 2017.

The timing of the deal means Spider-Man's likely to make his first Marvel movie appearance in Captain America: Civil War in May next year, The Verge reports.

Sony Pictures added that it was also "exploring opportunities to integrate characters from the Marvel Cinematic Universe into future Spider-Man films."

Last year, Sony Pictures hack had revealed the studio's extensive discussions with Marvel about the future of Spider-Man. Marvel wanted Spider-Man to appear in the next Captain America movie, while Sony Pictures president Doug Belgrad wanted a Marvel-produced Spider-Man movie in which Sony retained "creative control, marketing and distribution.

"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," said Michael Lynton, Chairman and CEO of Sony Pictures Entertainment. "This is the right decision for the franchise, for our business, for Marvel, and for the fans."

Spider-Man is the most successful franchise of Sony Pictures, with five films haven taken in more than $4 billion worldwide.