Marvel Wanted Spider-Man In CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR
As you know, Sony Pictures has had some issues figuring out what exactly they want to do with the Spider-Man franchise. There have also been rumors that Marvel has been talking with the studio to possibly bring Spider-Man back into the Marvel fold. Turns out it’s all true.
Thanks to the Sony Pictures e-mail hack, we have a little bit of clarity on what Sony is thinking about doing with Spider-Man and what Marvel wanted to do with him. The following information comes from the Wall Street Journal. Some of the projectss that are brought up in the emails and report include an animated Spider-Man comedy from Phil Lord and Chris Miller (The LEGO Movie). The studio also considered bringing Sam Raimi back to the franchise, and at one point they were looking at possibly teaming up with Marvel Studios.
The leaked e-mails reveal that there have been discussions between executives at Sony, Marvel, and Disney. Some of those conversations have taken place between the studio chief executives Kaz Hirai and Robert Iger. Here’s what the WSJ reports:
“In an Oct 30 e-mail, Sony Pictures president Doug Belgrad tells Ms. Pascal about a potential scenario that would see Marvel produce a new trilogy of Spider-Man movies while Sony retains creative control, marketing and distribution.
"In a separate e-mail, Ms. Pascal tells a business partner that Marvel wanted to include Spider-Man in its planned third Captain America movie."
That’s right! Marvel wanted to include Spider-Man in Captain America: Civil War! Unfortunately, discussions broke down and the studio ultimately couldn’t or wouldn't make a deal, which sucks ass. But, Sony is still planning to move forward with their own Spider-Man films… again.
Apparently Sony executives are planning on holding a “Spidey summit” in January to discuss future plans for the franchise. One of the projects that is in development is an animated Spider-Man comedy that would be produced by Miller and Lord, who recently made 22 Jump Street. They are also working on the previously announced Spider-Man spin-offs that will focus on Sinister Six, Venom, and a film that revolves around the female characters in the Spider-Man universe.
One of the other surprising aspects that was revealed was that the studio also tried to get Raimi to return as a director or a producer on the franchise. It looks like that didn’t work out either.
In the end, I’m incredibly saddened that Sony and Marvel couldn’t make a deal. I think Sony made a huge mistake letting that pass by. However, an animated Spider-Man comedy from Lord and Miller could be pretty cool, just not as cool as Spider-Man finally being able to team up with the Avengers in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.