I clearly don’t know enough about comics, because when it was announced last night that Spider-Man would be joining Marvel’s Cinematic Universe (MCU) while also remaining in control of Sony Pictures the Internet went wild. Why exactly? I’m not sure, but it truly seems comic book fans young and old just can’t get enough of these movies to the point any news will keep them up at night, speculating as to what it could mean for movies that won’t be hitting theaters for several years. Then again, you may be getting your next Spidey fix a little sooner than that.
Comic book go-to source extraordinaire, The Wall Street Journal is reporting Spider-Man will make his first appearance in the MCU with Captain America: Civil War, a rumor that’s been floating around for some time, though until now it didn’t seem to carry too much weight. Production on the film begins soon, with plans for a May 6, 2016 release date, and I wouldn’t be surprised if Spidey’s first appearance was in a post credits stinger, something that wouldn’t even require an actor to be cast where they could just have him in his suit, swinging around. But hey, those stingers often get more attention than the movies themselves so I’m sure this will be big news for many.
No telling if this will be the only Spider-Man appearance before his next solo outing, dated for July 28, 2017, but I would expect at least a little something more before then. One place he won’t be making an appearance, at least not yet, is in the planned release of Sinister Six directed by Drew Goddard. That film was originally slated for November 2016, but it has now been pulled from the release calendar and given this new direction for the franchise, I’d be surprised if it was ever made.
