Marvel (still) in talks with Sony to bring Spider-Man to the Marvel Cinematic Universe!

Perhaps the biggest news to come from the Sony hack is that Marvel Studios has been in talks with Sony to bring Spider-Man over to the Marvel Cinematic Universe! Yes, you read that right!

A leaked email from Sony Pictures president Doug Belgrad to Sony motion picture chief Amy Pascal revealed a discussion about a deal that would allow Marvel to produce a new trilogy of Spider-Man films while Sony kept creative control throughout. A separate email showed Amy Pascal talking about Marvel being in contact about adding Spider-Man in the upcoming Captain America sequel Captain America: Civil War. Comic fans will know that Spidey plays a rather large role in that storyline and that Marvel will really want to acquire the rights to use him in the film.

Initial reports seemed to point in the direction that these talks from October broke down and that Sony planned a "Spidey Summit" for January to discuss the future of the character. However, Latino Review (a site and source that I have come to trust for their incredible scoops and sources) are reporting that the deal is not yet over! According to Sony sources, Sony Pictures didn't reject a trilogy of movies that Marvel would produce. What was rejected was a co-production deal which would have had Marvel and Sony splitting costs 60/40, with Marvel having control of the character of Spider-Man so that he could make appearances in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Word also has it that Sony bosses over in Japan are both extremely unhappy about this hack but also about how Spider-Man has been handled as a whole.

"Sony Japan thinks the Marvel deal for Spider-Man is still on the table and they want to renegotiate as a return to quality, the 60/40 split is can be negotiated and Sony Entertainment’s October hard-line stance of wanting creative control is now mostly moot in the eyes of the higher-ups."

This means that fans could very well still see a Spider-Man appearance in the Marvel Cinematic Universe! However, this could also mean that in the end Sony could green light multiple spin-off films in the attempt to find the quality films they are desperately needing. These spin-offs could bring in some fan favorite characters but if not handled properly things could take a turn for the worse.

One last thing to point out is that these emails also reveal a Spider-Man animated film from Chris Miller and Phil Lord (The LEGO Movie) that is in development. So that could be pretty interesting!

How do you feel about all of this? Think Sony should make a deal with Marvel and watch the money flow in? Think Sony should protect their property and hold onto Spider-Man?

Source: Wall Street Journal
Source: Latino Review