Editorial: The New, New Spiderman: A Part of the MCU

by Josh

So for those who hadn’t heard the news yet, some time ago, it came out that Sony and Marvel reached an agreement as to how they will be working with Spiderman in the future. “Huh?!?” You might say. There were rumors of such a possibility back when the Sony leaks were all the rage, but most people likely dismissed these rumors as just that. But it looks like the rumors turned out to be true after all.  Check out Josh’s take on the news after the jump!

There have been many new reports floating around the internet that the deal involves a few key points of interest:

1. Spiderman will end up in one of the Marvel movies prior to his own standalone film, and will become a part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).
2. He will also appear in a new standalone film, July 28, 2017.
3. Also rumors are floating about that whatever studio that produces the film that Spiderman is in, will handle the production and distribution fully–Sony gets all of the money for the standalone films, Marvel gets all the money for their MCU films including Spiderman.
4. Sony will remain in creative control of Spiderman.

So these are the main points out so far. But what does it all mean? First, let’s start with some speculation. About 99% of the people who care about this news believe the Marvel movie that Spiderman will appear in is Captain America 3: Civil War. This probably makes the most sense. We know it is a movie prior to the standalone Spiderman film, and the other two options that haven’t already begun filming are Doctor Strange and Guardians of the Galaxy 2. It would be really hilarious to see if Marvel could squeeze Spiderman into Guardians of the Galaxy, but I am putting my money on that being completely ridiculous, due to both tone of the film and, well, the setting the movie will be taking place–space. As for Doctor Strange, that is another oddball, again primarily because of tone.

So back to Civil War, I won’t harp on it too much, as a million people on the internet already have–this makes the most sense. Spiderman is a very pivotal character to Civil War‘s story, so it makes 100% sense for that to be the movie. What better way to get excitement going for Spiderman again than to stick him in one of his biggest conflicts in recent times? There were rumors that Black Panther might be taking the Spiderman role, but given this revelation with Spiderman, that can’t be the case anymore. The crazy thing is that Civil War is coming out in 2016. That means, if Spiderman is going to appear in the movie, Marvel/Sony have to make their casting decision soon.

So, who should Sony/Marvel cast? I guess it depends on which Spiderman they go with. Marvel/Sony could be brave, and go with the Miles Morales version of Spiderman. For those unfamiliar, this is a teenage Puerto Rican boy that took over for Spiderman. He comes from a much different background than Peter Parker as well. There are certainly plenty of merits of going with Miles Morales. One, the origin story is completely different, so if Sony decides to do another origin story, at least this one would be something we haven’t seen before. Also, it would provide some racial diversity in a primarily Caucasian hero world. Tony Stark, Steve Rogers, Bruce Banner, Thor, Black Widow, Winter Soldier, Loki, and Hawkeye are all Caucasian. The only few non-white characters are Nick Fury, Falcon, Rhodes, and Heimdall. It would be interesting to see some more diversity in the Marvel Universe.

What are the benefits of sticking with Peter Parker? The biggest one is broad appeal. Everyone knows who Peter Parker is–even non-comic book fans. Comics also tend to cater more to “nerdy” groups, and Peter Parker is identifiably a nerd, who just happens to dress up as a hero. Peter Parker would tend to have a more broad appeal.

As for my personal opinion, I see merits in both. I think since I am a “nerd” however, I really like the “science-y” Spiderman, who builds his own webshooters, and is overall a smart guy. I think when we see Peter Parker a part of Avengers (and I am most certain we will), it will be interesting to see his intellect bounce off of Tony Stark and Bruce Banner. Based on the general public knowledge, I would place my bets on Peter Parker being the Spiderman we see.

If Sony/Marvel chose to go with Miles Morales, I would be on board. I think if done well, Miles Morales could be a compelling story as well. If Sony really wanted to throw a curve ball, they could go with a Spiderwoman. How crazy would that be? I have a feeling Sony will be holding on to that for her own movie though.

So given that Peter Parker is the direction Sony and Marvel go, who should be cast? It is speculated that Sony will be returning Peter Parker to high school, so a teenage actor will be what Sony is looking for. Rumors are flying about who it could be, and it is unfortunate that Andrew Garfield is out. So some of the names floating around are Taron Egerton from Kingsman, Logan Lerman from The Perks of Being a Wallflower, and Dylan O’Brien from Maze Runner. Of the three, I can certainly see Dylan O’Brien as Spidey. He has a slender frame, and certainly looks like he could pull off Peter Parker’s demeanor. Taron Egerton is certainly a star in the making, but I am not sure how good of an American accent he can do, and his physique doesn’t seem to be quite right–he is a little too stocky I think. I am not familiar with Logan Lerman, so I am not sure what to make of him.

So, how exciting is all of this? Tremendously exciting! From a fan’s perspective, this is a win no matter how you look at it. Marvel gets to put its Midas touch on Spiderman for the MCU, something many Marvel fanboys have been hoping for since the dawn of the MCU Avengers. Also, some new life can hopefully be breathed into the new Spiderman films.

As from the two production companies’ point of view, I can’t see a whole lot of negative either. Both companies retain their financial gains from their respective movies, and Sony gets some free advice from Marvel when it comes to making them. The only downside that I can foresee would be if one of the studios doesn’t care for how Spiderman is being handled. In the coming weeks, I expect we will find out who this new Spiderman will be, and have a more concrete answer on which movie the webcrawler will appear in. I for one, will be sitting on pins and needles, anticipating the next tidbits revealed!

So what do you think of the new plans for Spiderman?  Let us know in the comments below!