The LEGO Movie Directors Are Making an Animated Spider-Man Film
The big Sony Pictures leak fiasco that took place late last year revealed a lot of the studio's plans. One such plan involved negotiations between Sony and The LEGO Movie directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller to direct an upcoming Spider-Man film. Since then, many things have changed, the most notable of which is Spider-Man officially joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe in next year's Captain America: Civil War.
During a presentation at Las Vegas' Cinema Con, it was revealed that the 22 Jump Street writers/directors will be writing and producing an animated Spider-Man film. Furthermore, the film will be independent of the upcoming live-action Spider-Man film and will debut in theaters on July 20, 2018.
With Marvel's Kevin Feige already confirming that the live-action Spider-Man will be a high school-aged Peter Parker, the possibility of Miles Morales starring in the animated film is very realistic. It would help introduce Miles to a larger audience outside of comic book circles, and could be the stepping stone Sony and Marvel need to incorporate the character into the live-action MCU films.
Whatever the case, Lord and Miller have proven their penchant for comedy with The LEGO Movie, both Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs films, and the 21/22 Jump Street films. With the keys in the duo's hands, I'm feeling extra confident and excited for the animated Spider-Man film.
[via /Film]
Spider-Man Officially Joining Marvel Cinematic Universe
It finally happened. After the Sony hacks took place a few months ago, it appeared that a lot of the leaked emails and information would be dead in the water. One such negotiation involved Sony and Disney coming to terms so Spider-Man could appear in official Marvel Cinematic Universe films.
Per the press release Marvel released, the "new Spider-Man will first appear in a Marvel film from Marvel's Cinematic Universe (MCU)." Afterwards, a Sony Pictures installment will release on July 28, 2017 co-produced by MCU's main behind-the-scenes man, Kevin Feige, and Amy Pascal, former Sony head who faced a lot of criticism following the aforementioned Sony hacks. More importantly, the two "will collaborate on a new creative direction for the web slinger." In addition, the release also states that "Marvel and Sony Pictures are also exploring opportunities to integrate characters from the MCU into future Spider-Man films."
What's interesting to note is that Andrew Garfield is probably out per the release's specific notation of a "new Spider-Man" appearing. Marvel has also adjusted their upcoming release schedule, fitting the upcoming Spider-Man film for July 2017, pushing Thor: Ragnarok to November 2017, Black Panther to July 2018, Captain Marvel to November 2018, and Inhumans to July 2019.
It's an exciting time for superhero film fans, especially those of us who are avid Spider-Man fans that have waited for exactly this moment. With Feige helping oversee the direction of the Spider-Man films, we can finally have the proper Spider-Man film we haven't seen on the big screen yet. Furthermore, the collaboration between Sony and Marvel could open up doors for FOX to negotiate some type of dual deal with Disney and Sony to have their characters (X-Men and Fantastic Four) appear altogether.
Make mine Marvel!
[via Marvel]
The Amazing Spider-Man 2's Post-Credits Scene Will Be an X-Men: Days of Future Past Trailer
I have major beef with The Amazing Spider-Man 2 and X-Men: Days of Future Past. Okay, maybe not with the films themselves, but with the ways Sony and Fox have been handling the marketing for each of the films, respectively.
First, Sony has been going completely overboard with their handling of The Amazing Spider-Man 2. It was common knowledge for comic book/film fans that The Amazing Spider-Man 2 was going to feature both Rhino and Electro in the film. However, Sony quickly spoiled the surprise of Green Goblin's presence with a half-assed revelation that Dane DeHaan would, in fact, portray the villain, complete with a radical makeover. Soon after the revelation, Sony announced their plans for a spin-off trilogy that would focus on the Sinister Six, six of Spider-Man's arch-nemeses united to take the wall crawler down. That's great, but why rush things not even two films into this newfound universe?
Meanwhile, Fox has been doing their part to ensure the universe they've built around the original X-Men trilogy would be as confusing as possible. X-Men: First Class was meant to be a retcon/reboot that altered some facts from the X-Men films, but then became the first part in a new X-Men trilogy that would lead into this summer's upcoming X-Men: Days of Future Past. Time travel films are very hard to handle, but when bringing the device into a franchise that already had a confusing backstory to begin with gives Fox the chance to alter things the way they want to while also paving the path for the third film in the trilogy, the already announced X-Men: Apocalypse. I kind of like what Fox is doing with X-Men, but the over-saturation of X-Men stuff over the past couple of weeks, from Carl's Jr. commercials to sharing the film's first fight sequence to the 2938238th trailer is just overkill.
Now, waters are being muddled as it's being reported that The Amazing Spider-Man 2's post-credits scene will feature a scene from X-Men: Days of Future Past. However, fanboys will want to keep their pants on, as this isn't a sign of a crossover between the two studios/properties, but a marketing ploy between Sony and Fox. Variety's reporting that the existence of an X-Men: Days of Future Past trailer at the end of The Amazing Spider-Man 2's credits is due to a pre-existing contract Marc Webb made with Fox Searchlight to shoot another film with the studio following the success of (500) Days of Summer. However, the director opted to make The Amazing Spider-Man 2. Fox agreed to let Webb out of his contract, but only if Sony would advertise X-Men: Days of Future Past for free, thus leading to an otherwise unnecessary promo for a film the majority of movie audiences would already go see.
In a perfect world, Disney would buy out Sony and Fox's Marvel properties and bring them all under the Marvel Films umbrella. However, the odds of that happening are very, very slim for the foreseeable future. Nevertheless, if you're expecting something much more substantial in regards to a post-credits scene with The Amazing Spider-Man 2, your bubble has officially been burst.
[via Variety]