Harvey Reacts: Spider-Man

Harvey Reacts To:

Spider-Man Joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe

Hello and welcome to Harvey Reacts, where I react to movie news that I find interesting.  Today, some shocking news recently hit the internet.  Sony, the company that has owned the movie rights for Spider-Man for over a decade, has made a deal with Marvel Studios that allows the web head to be a part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.  For years, fans have been begging Sony to give the rights back to Marvel, and now that dream has become a reality.  Sort of.  Here are the facts:

• Sony still controls Spider-Man's movie rights, and they have the right to finance, distribute, and own future projects, as well as having final creative control of the projects the character appears in.
• Spider-Man will likely make his first appearance in Captain America: Civil War, on May 6, 2016. 
• Spider-Man will be getting a new solo movie on July 28, 2017.
• This will push back Thor: Ragnarok to November 3, 2017,  Black Panther to July 6, 2018, Captain Marvel to November 2, 2018, and Inhumans to July 12, 2019.  All other Marvel Studios release dates will remain the same.
• Kevin Feige (the head of Marvel studios) and Amy Pascal (the former head of Sony) will co-produce the film.
• The planned Sinister Six movie has been put on on hold, and it's unknown whether it will come out at all.
• Andrew Garfield will be replaced by a different actor who has yet to be cast.
• The movie will most likely follow Peter Parker, rather than fan-favorite, Miles Morales.

In my opinion, this is amazing news.  It will be so amazing to see my favorite superhero interacting with my favorite movie franchise.  While I enjoyed the Amazing Spider-Man movies, they did have many flaws, mostly due to executive meddling.  Based on Marvel's track record so far, it looks like Spidey's in good hands.  I can't wait to see him turn up in Captain America: Civil War.  In the comics, he plays a very important role during the Civil War story line, and it wouldn't feel right without him there.  However, I do have some reservations.  First of all, I am saddened to hear that Andrew Garfield will no be a part of the franchise.  He's a great actor, and I really liked his performance as Peter Parker.  It's too bad that he won't get to play this part in better hands.  Also, I really hope that the new movie won't be an origin story.  We've seen it done twice within 15 years (which isn't very long by movie reboot standards), so to see it done a third time in just three years form now would be repetitive and boring.  Perhaps what they could do is show the origin briefly in flashbacks, or summarize it in the opening credits, like in The Incredible Hulk.  I'm also a bit worried about Sony having final say on the product.  Executive meddling in the last movie created a lot of problems, including adding too many villains, rushing important scenes, and setting up too many plot threads for future projects.  Despite this, I'm still excited to see Spider-Man in the hands of Marvel Studios.  Even if it turns out to be not very good, it will still be interesting to see their take on the character.  I have faith in Marvel Studios.

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