‘Spider-Man’ Returns To Marvel

Spider-Man has been a popular character in the comic-book movie world since 2002. The last incarnation was 2014's The Amazing Spider-Man 2, which grossed $708.9 million worldwide. That sounds like an impressive sum and for most movies it would be, but for the franchise as a whole, including Sam Raimi's trilogy, it's actually the lowest grossing installment and critical reception was mixed at best. Now, there appears to be a large shake-up for the web-slinger's cinematic future.

According to Variety, Peter Parker is returning to Marvel. In a reboot of the Spider-Man franchise, Sony Pictures Entertainment has announced a new partnership with Marvel Studios that brings the popular superhero into the Marvel universe. A new Spider-Man film will hit theaters on July 28, 2017. Sony has owned the feature rights to comic book character since 1999, when Marvel sold them for $7 million. According to the deal, Sony and Marvel will cast a new Spidey after Andrew Garfield starred in the last two films, The Amazing Spider-Man and The Amazing Spider-Man 2. Tobey Maguire played Peter Parker in the previous three installments for Sony. Marvel’s Kevin Feige will produce the rebooted Spider-Man with Amy Pascal, who recently stepped down as co-chairman of Sony in a new producer deal. She oversaw the $4 billion Spider-Man franchise for over 13 years at the studio.

Sony will continue to distribute, finance, own and have final creative control of the Spider-Man pics. They will work with Marvel, owned by Disney, to weave Spider-Man’s character into Marvel’s upcoming superhero films, which includes the popular franchise The Avengers. Variety previously reported that Marvel plans on bringing the Civil War storyline from the comic books to launch the next phase of films. It’s very likely that Spider-Man will make his first appearance in Captain America: Civil War next year. Hopefully, all of the reshuffling being done with the property will bring a much needed fresh take on the character.