Sony have been openly denying the rumors that Spider-Man might be making an appearance in “Captain America 3”, but that certainly hasn’t put an end to those rumors. If anything, they have been getting even more prominent lately, and it’s starting to seem like there might be grain of truth to them. A recent revelation from a hack into Sony’s systems shows that the studio might indeed be in talks with Marvel regarding the use of Spider-Man in their upcoming movie, however he might not be played by Andrew Garfield as previously rumored.
Recently, Sony were hit with a cyber attack which saw their servers compromised and many e-mails from high-ranking company officials leaked. Among those was a series of e-mails involving Amy Pascal, co-chairman of Sony Pictures, which indicate that Sony had given their agreement to shelve their plans for “The Amazing Spider-Man 3” just a few months ago.
The fact that Garfield will not be reprising his role as Spider-Man also originates in those e-mails, and it would be a strange decision from the studio, given the good reviews his performance saw. However, while Garfield’s own playing was praised by most critics, many of them were simultaneously disappointed with other elements of the last “Spider-Man” movie, and subsequently gave it low ratings. This, coupled with the relatively poor financial performance of the film, could have been the driving factor behind the changes.
And indeed, relations between Garfield and Sony have reportedly not been flawless lately, as he recently didn’t appear at a formal dinner event, which was attended by various high-ranking executives of the studio. It’s not known if his absence played a part in the decision to strip the role from him, or if it was the other way around, but the fact that he didn’t attend the dinner seems to have struck a negative nerve in some of Sony’s executives.
If Sony end up selling a license for the “Spider-Man” franchise to Marvel, this could have some potentially interesting implications. It might not just speak about the appearance of Spider-Man in the new “Captain America” film, but it could also imply other productions coming from Marvel that could give fans something exciting to watch.
Examining some of the e-mails reveals that even if this deal does go through, there are still some special notes to be made about it. Sony seem to insist on retaining a good level of creative control over the production, so they are not giving complete freedom over it to Marvel – or at least that’s what some of the e-mails imply. In addition, it seems that a reboot of the “Spider-Man” franchise was on the table during those discussions.