As it does every year, San Diego Comic-Con 2019 arrived with an armada of announcements about just what the entertainment industry has in store for us over the coming seasons, and none more so than those pertaining to the exuberant Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige took the stage and dished out the details on about just what will form the backbone for the Avengers-less Phase Four and those beyond, even addressing long-standing rumors about the future of the ill-fated X-Men and Fantastic Four franchises without a blemish.
But, it was the fate of another beloved superhero which remained in the balance – Spider-Man.
Of course, cinematic rights to the web-slinger have been shared between Marvel and Sony Pictures for the best part of half-a-decade, but with Spidey’s role about to conclude in the Infinity Saga, actor Tom Holland’s contract soon to end, and the rights returning back to the Japanese conglomerate, an air of uncertainty hangs over the entire affair, being particularly more pronounced given both companies’ reluctance to release further information upon the matter.
Recently, rumors have been circulating that Sony Pictures might be in contact with director Sam Raimi to bring back his iteration of the franchise with the long-awaited Spider-Man 4, whilst still others have published that it would actually be director Marc Webb’s Amazing Spider-Man franchise that would get another shot at life.
Fans would remember that the reboot franchise was scrapped quite quickly after the release the Amazing Spider-Man 2, a film that has since been widely regarded as the worst on-screen outing of the web-crawler.
This meant that Andrew Garfield was unceremoniously shown the door, and plans for an extended multiverse featuring the Sinister Six and a prominent role for Dane DeHaan as the Green Goblin shelved entirely.
But, seeing how Venom proved to be a potent success for Sony and reinvigorated plans for bringing back the Sinister Six with Marc Webb at helm, we might just see the return of Andrew Garfield as our favorite friendly neighborhood vigilante soon enough.