--- ---  # Everything You Need to Know About Marvel and Sony Teaming Up For Yet Another Spider-Man Movie ## Video: Understanding the Marvel Cinematic Universe [Watch (HLS stream): Understanding the Marvel Cinematic Universe](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/nKWYGrii.m3u8) (2:55)  _Published 2013-11-05. How do we get from Iron Man to The Avengers? Where do the X-Men fit in? Learn how Marvel has crafted the progression of its superheroes in film._  by [Eliana Dockterman](https://time.com/author/eliana-dockterman/)  ## Eliana Dockterman Correspondent Feb 10, 2015 5:13 PM UTC  Andrew Garfield as Spider-Man in The Amazing Spider-Man 2 Andrew Garfield as Spider-Man in The Amazing Spider-Man 2Columbia Pictures  by [Eliana Dockterman](https://time.com/author/eliana-dockterman/)  ## Eliana Dockterman Correspondent Feb 10, 2015 5:13 PM UTC Spider-Man is returning to his Marvel home. Sony has long owned the rights to the superhero, but will finally share him with Marvel Studios, first for a yet-to-be-announced crossover film with other Marvel characters and then for his own solo outing. Movie analysts have long speculated that Sony would turn to Marvel (and its parent company Disney) for help with the character whose films have been flailing as of late — at least compared to the mega-empire that is the Marvel Avengers’ franchise. But how Spider-Man returned to Marvel, and who benefits from this partnership, is a complicated web. Let’s try to untangle it: **Sony buys the rights to Spider-Man** Back in 1985, before superhero films had blockbuster appeal (just try to imagine it!), Marvel put the feature film rights to Spider-Man up for sale. There weren’t many takers, but eventually the comics company struck a deal with Cannon Films, which proceeded to go bankrupt. After years of litigation, Marvel finally reclaimed the rights to Spider-Man in 1999, at which point they sold them to Sony Pictures for a [reported $7 million](http://www.bloomberg.com/bw/stories/2002-04-14/unraveling-spider-mans-tangled-web). This wasn’t the only hero Marvel sold off. The struggling comic book company sold the film rights to the X-Men and Fantastic Four franchises to Fox and the rights to Iron Man, Thor, The Hulk and Captain America to various other studios. It wasn’t until Disney bought Marvel in 2009 that they began the arduous process of buying the characters back, beginning with Iron Man, Thor and Captain America from Paramount Pictures in 2013\. (Universal returned to film rights for the Hulk in 2003, but it still owns the distribution rights, which is why Marvel has yet to make a solo Hulk film. Both the Edward Norton and Eric Bana pictures were Universal creations.) Why did Disney go to the trouble? Because Sony released its first Spider-Man film in 2002 and raked in $821 million. That movie changed _everything_. **The first** **_Spider-Man_** **movie kicks off a golden age of comic book films** If you’ve experienced comic book movie fatigue in the past decade, you can blame Spider-Man. Before Robert Downey Jr.’s Iron Man built his robot prototype in a cave and before Christian Bale’s Batman fell down that well, Tobey McGuire’s Spider-Man swung into theaters and ensnared audiences’ hearts in his web. Those three original _Spider-Man_ films (from 2002-2007) launched a new kind of superhero movie that leaned heavily on CGI technology for mass appeal, but also had an emotional core. It was that depth, tempered by with a sense of light humor, that brought audiences back to find out how Peter Parker and Mary Jane fared, or whether Peter honored his dying uncle’s words. The first _Iron Man_ film, released just one year after the _Spider-Man_ franchise wrapped, began to refine the formula. **Sony’s Spider-Man flounders** After _Iron Man_ proved a hit ($585 million), Marvel quickly began to dominate the comic book universe, outshining the Sony _Spider-Man_ films, the Warner Bros./DC Comics _Batman_ and _Superman_ films and Fox’s _X-Men_ films. In 2012, Sony rebooted the Spider-Man franchise as _The Amazing Spider-Man_ with Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone; the movie was well-received by fans. But last summer, _The Amazing Spider-Man 2_ grossed less than the first and was handily beaten by Marvel’s _Guardians of the Galaxy_ — one of Marvel’s lesser known and more offbeat franchises. **MORE:** [A Comic Book Dummy’s Guide to the Marvel Universe Plan](http://time.com/3545717/marvel-universe-upcoming-movies/) This was bad news for Sony, which has little blockbuster firepower lined up for the next several years, aside from the _Spider-Man_ and _James Bond_ franchises. (Prospects are so dismal they’re [reportedly considering](http://variety.com/2015/film/news/why-sony-called-in-marvels-big-gun-to-reboot-spider-man-1201429540/) mashing up _Men in Black_ and _21 Jump Street._) Spider-Man needed saving, and Marvel Studio Head Kevin Feige, who has produced 10 blockbusters in a row, looked like the people to do it. But why would Marvel want the rights to Spider-Man _back_? **What Marvel gains: The Civil War plot** First, Spider-Man is one of the most popular superheroes in the world. This will be his sixth movie in 15 years, and yet people are still excited to see him. Merchandising alone will be massive. And as Feige [told Wired](http://www.wired.com/2012/05/kevin-feige-avengers/) in 2012, “Clearly we would prefer everything be at home, so to speak.” But more important, Spider-Man can now become a member of the Avengers. Comic book readers will have missed the wise-cracking Spidey in previous _Avengers_ films. But his absence would have been most jarring in 2016’s _Captain America: Civil War_. Spider-Man plays an integral role in the Civil War plot line in the comic books, and though Sony and Marvel have yet to say in which film “the new Spider-Man” will make his debut, the 2016 Captain America movie would make a lot of sense. It’s a relief to comic book fans that the studios came to this decision. After all, Marvel isn’t above playing dirty: The comic book arm of the company [is canceling](http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/fantastic-four-no-more-740423) the _Fantastic Four_ comic book series next June, two months before Fox’s film reboot of the franchise with Miles Teller and Michael B. Jordan. **Bad news for Andrew Garfield and Carol Danvers** Even though fans are rejoicing, the announcement is bad news for some. The language of “new Spider-Man” announcement suggests that Andrew Garfield will be recast. And to make room for the new Spider-Man movie on July 28, 2017, Marvel has to reshuffle its calendar. _Thor: Ragnarok_ will be delayed until November 2017, _Black Panther_ delayed until July 2018, _Captain Marvel_ until November 2018 and _Inhumans_ until July 2019. Fans have long been lobbying for a female superhero film and were overjoyed to hear that Captain Marvel [would hit the big screen](http://time.com/3554606/captain-marvel-movie-kelly-sue-deconnick/) in the summer of 2017\. (A Warner Bros. _Wonder Woman_ movie and a film about a female character from the Spider-Man universe from Sony are also scheduled for that summer.) Now Carol Davners has been pushed until fall 2018, delaying her debut until after the two other ladies. **_Read Next:_**[_Meet Captain Marvel: Fighter Pilot, Feminist and Marvel’s Big Gamble_](http://time.com/3554606/captain-marvel-movie-kelly-sue-deconnick/) ### See How Marvel's Wolverine Has Evolved Over The Years  Kate Willaert—HalloweenCostumes.com  Kate Willaert—HalloweenCostumes.com  Kate Willaert—HalloweenCostumes.com  Kate Willaert—HalloweenCostumes.com  Kate Willaert—HalloweenCostumes.com  Kate Willaert—HalloweenCostumes.com  Kate Willaert—HalloweenCostumes.com  Kate Willaert—HalloweenCostumes.com  Kate Willaert—HalloweenCostumes.com Why Sony Teamed Up With Marvel Studios For Another 'Spider-Man' Movie ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3702894/spider-man-movie-marvel-everything-you-need-to-know/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3702894/spider-man-movie-marvel-everything-you-need-to-know/"},"headline":"Everything You Need to Know About Marvel and Sony Teaming Up For Yet Another Spider-Man Movie","datePublished":"2015-02-10T17:13:50.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T05:05:44.461Z","description":"Unraveling the spider's tangled web","url":"https://time.com/3702894/spider-man-movie-marvel-everything-you-need-to-know/","keywords":["movies","Marvel","Spider-Man","comic books","The Avengers"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2b5254a132e9408f/69877e67e53abab1374d77e5/spider-man.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Eliana Dockterman","jobTitle":"Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/eliana-dockterman/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2b5254a132e9408f/69877e67e53abab1374d77e5/spider-man.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"MCDAMSP EC059","caption":"MCDAMSP EC059","creditText":"Columbia Pictures","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/movies/","name":"movies"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3702894/spider-man-movie-marvel-everything-you-need-to-know/","name":"Everything You Need to Know About Marvel and Sony Teaming Up For Yet Another Spider-Man Movie"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Understanding the Marvel Cinematic Universe","description":"How do we get from Iron Man to The Avengers? 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