Hello, there, my name’s Andy, and for those of you who don’t know me (which is all of you) I’m Beth’s little brother. For some reason, she seems to think I’m not funny. Well, I’m here to… y’know what? She’s right. Never mind.
[Beth Edit: I tried to protect his true identity in this post, but whatever, Budge, let your freak flag fly.]
Anyway, Beth knows jack-all about comic books or the characters contained therein, so when Marvel and Sony announced the greatest entertainment news in history on February 9, I decided that she needed someone who actually knew what they were talking about to cover the story.
The What
Marvel and Sony Pictures have joined forces to allow Spider-Man to participate in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. I’ll give you a few moments to let the tears clear so you can finish reading the article (it’s mostly for me; the crying makes the words blurry). Imagine what this means: we’ll get to see Spidey fighting side-by-side with Captain America, out-quipping Tony Stark and battling Thanos in “Avengers: Infinity War.”
This guy. Spidey can take him, right?
According to the deal, Spider-Man will appear in an as-yet unspecified Marvel Studios film prior to his next solo project, which has been scheduled for July 28, 2017. Looking at the list of upcoming Marvel films, the only one that makes sense (unless they cast and shoot a post-credits scene for Avengers: Age of Ultron REALLY fast) is Captain America: Civil War, which was a storyline in the comics where the Avengers split and battled each other over being forced to register with and work for the U.S. government.
Spidey played a huge role in this story in the books, (SPOILERS) first siding with Iron Man and registering with the government, going so far as to unmask on national television in support of the law; then switching sides and joining Captain America halfway through, after witnessing former comrades dying on the front lines due to Tony Stark’s increasingly harsh tactics.
I don’t think “Oops” quite covers it.
The Who
In terms of casting the role, first, a note: for good or for ill, Andrew Garfield will no longer be playing Spider-Man. Neither will his two films be included in the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s continuity. This will be an all-new Spidey with an all-new actor donning the webs, though the Internet has been a-twitter (HA! I CAN be funny!) with notions of Tobey Maguire, who portrayed Peter Parker in Sam Raimi’s original Spider-Man trilogy, returning to the role (these notions should be tossed aside, however, as Marvel and Sony have already announced they’re looking for a much younger actor to play the character.)
Actor J.K. Simmons, who played Peter’s obnoxious and Spider-Hater boss J. Jonah Jameson in Raimi’s films, has expressed interest in returning to this role, and should have a contract drawn up in stone for the rest of his natural life.
Simmons’s reaction when told someone else could play J. Jonah Jameson.
The Whine
My concern with this deal is this: Sony maintains final creative control over any Spider-Man solo films. So far, we have seen FIVE Spider-Man movies from this company, and the only one of those that was vaguely passable was Raimi’s Spider-Man 2, and that was only because Alfred Molina crushed it as Doctor Octopus. Even with MCU overlord Kevin Feige coming over from Marvel Studios to produce, I’m concerned that Sony still won’t get that perfect mixture of Spidey humor and infamous “Parker Luck” down properly to give us a Spider-Man who feels both fitting and comparable to the great performances and characters we’ve been presented from the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Just not this again. ANYTHING but this.
Regardless, it’s still the best news that’s come out so far this century. Welcome home, Spidey. Now we just have to rally the rest of the team and rescue the Fantastic Four and X-Men from the clutches of the Fox.
Avengers Assemble!
Written by: Andy
Andy’s current obsessions: Watchmen. George Saunders short stories. My daughter’s laughter. Staying up writing. Space Mountain. The new lightsaber from Episode VII. Robin Lord Taylor’s Penguin. My wife’s eyes. Marvel Comics. The Script. Reading in bed.
You may know him from: his brief stint as the front man of a rock band, or his infrequent postings on Facebook.
