The Future Of Spider-Man

by Christina

If you don’t know by now that Spider-Man will be joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe, then I am jealous of the untethered life you lead.  I imagine you’ve been spending the time lounging on a remote beach on your own private island in the Caribbean.  Meanwhile, here at ALNM, we've been keeping up on all the latest the Internet has to offer on recent developments.  We've gathered up the facts, the rumors, and our own ideas for you in one nifty little article below.

What we know so far
In the infamous Sony hacking scandal, e-mails leaked showing Sony and Marvel were in talks to have Spider-Man appear in the upcoming Captain America: Civil War.  It was said those talks fell through.  This caused everyone to be simultaneously excited and disappointed at the same time.  All anyone could do was wait for a supposed summit by Sony execs in January to discuss the future of the Spider-Man franchise.

On February 9th, 2015, everything changed.  Sony Pictures and Marvel Studios announced that Spider-Man would be appearing in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.  Sony would retain the rights to the character and still have final creative control over any future Spider-Man films.  A new Spider-Man solo film will be released on July 28th, 2017 and will be co-produced by Kevin Feige and Amy Pascal.  This version of Spider-Man will make an earlier appearance in another MCU film.

The rumors
Rumors are swirling fast and furious as the ever popular “anonymous source close to the situation” gives their exclusive update.  It does seem to be generally accepted that Spider-Man will be making an appearance in Captain America: Civil War.  This would mean they are working fast to get a solid game plan for the character down as that film begins principal photography next month.  It has also been rumored that Spider-Man could get a brief cameo appearance in the Avengers: Age of Ultron (released May 1, 2015).  In all likelihood this couldn’t be much more than a post credits thing, but I wouldn’t put anything past Marvel.  The recent release of the Avengers theatrical poster added to this particular rumor, as Danny Elfman is listed as having provided additional music.  Elftman provided the score for Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy.

But if anything is breaking the Internet nowadays, it’s rumors about who will be playing Spider-Man.  Two leading names seem to be Logan Lerman (Percy Jackson, Fury) and Dylan O’Brien (Teen Wolf, The Maze Runner).  There have been no definitive announcements about either (in fact, O’Brien denied claims that he’s even been approached about the role).  Another theory floating around is Sony and Marvel will be reaching outside the box by picking a non white actor, who would either be a different version of Peter Parker or the current print Spider-Man, Miles Morales.

As for the 2017 solo film, the current popular theory is the film will feature the Sinister Six as well as a showdown with Iron Man as an audition for the Avengers.  Whether this film will move forward as a part of the original series or not is currently unknown.  The more popular idea is this film will signify a complete reboot of the character without being an origin story.  The return of Gwen Stacy is also a possibility.

ALNM’s ideas
Andrew Garfield should continue as Peter Parker.

Just hear me out here.  Not everyone is as passionate about superheroes and comic books as the rest of us.  Some enjoy these films just as movies in and of themselves.

If Spider-Man is making an appearance in Civil War, and his first appearance is in the iconic unmasking scene of the comics, imagine the audience’s reaction if this is a completely brand new actor.  Now imagine the reaction if you see Andrew Garfield’s Peter Parker.  This would be a character we’ve seen recently through two films go from a typical high school student to a sarcastic but pained superhero.  This would lend so much more weight to the scene and the storyline overall.  All the canon issues can be easily resolved by pushing the previous Spider-Man films into the time period between the first Iron Man movie and the first Avengers movie.  And for an added bonus, Andrew Garfield could play a Spider-Man of a more realistic age.

Now, in the 2017 solo film, we could follow Peter Parker’s storyline to it’s resolution and have an origin story for Miles Morales.  Everyone is sick and tired of watching Peter Parker getting bit by a spider and lose his Uncle Ben.  But Miles Morales would be a complete fresh face to reinvigorate the franchise.  It would also give Marvel the young Spider-Man they’re rumored to want.

In conclusion
Regardless of what has happened and what will happen, Spider-Man returning to the Marvel fold onscreen is an exciting move.  He is one of the most iconic characters in comics.  Seeing him onscreen with the most iconic superheroes of film will be a major movie moment.  Until then, all we can do is theorize and wait.