The Marvel-Sony partnership on “Spider-Man” has not only shifted release dates around on the calendar. It’s put other entities in the “Spider-Man” universe in flux as well.
Under the deal, the new Spider-Man will first appear in a Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) film before headlining his own film, produced by Marvel’s Kevin Feige and Sony’s Amy Pascal.
Andrew Garfield is out as Peter Parker, as the new creative team searches for a high school aged superhero, but previously in-development Spidey spinoffs are still alive, and everyone who was previously attached to them are still all on board, according to an individual with knowledge of the projects.
Below is a roundup of who’s in and who’s out of the new “Spider-Man” universe.
Kevin Feige and Amy Pascal
Status: In
Feige and Pascal have been tasked with partnering to produce a new creative direction for the webslinger, who will first appear in a Marvel Cinematic Universe movie (presumably “Captain America: Civil War”) before headlining his own film. It will be released in 2017 and distributed by Sony. It’s the first major studio crossover of its kind, and one that many fans have hardly dared to hope might actually happen. Feige and Pascal are now in the process of putting together writers for the project.
Andrew Garfield
Status: Out
Marvel and Sony will look for another actor to play a new version of Spider-Man, one who is expected to be much younger than the now 31-year-old star. Will the new Spider-Man be Peter Parker or Miles Morales, aka Ultimate Spider-Man from the comic books? It’s still unclear at this point, but he won’t be played by Garfield. It should be noted, the actor isn’t hurting for work. He’s now filming Martin Scorsese‘s next film, the long-gestating drama “Silence.”
Avi Arad
Status: In, but…
The producing duo who shepherded Marc Webb’s “The Amazing Spider-Man” franchise launcher, has been downgraded to executive producers on the next installment of the “Spider-Man” franchise, and will no longer have creative control. Marvel President Kevin Feige and recently ousted Sony boss Amy Pascal will take the lead in shaping the direction for the next incarnation of the Marvel superhero.
Marc Webb
Status: Out
He’s the man behind Sony’s relaunch of “The Amazing Spider-Man,” but he definitely will have no part of the new creative direction Feige and Pascal are taking the Marvel superhero. Webb brought swagger and humor back to Spider-Man, giving Garfield plenty of room to play with the character’s deep-rooted personality quirks, and Webb can certainly be credited with casting Emma Stone to play the webslinger’s first love Gwen. The chemistry between the two was one of the highlights of Webb’s pair of films, and certainly something that will be hard to live up to for the new team.
Drew Goddard
Status: In
All creatives who were involved in the development of the Spidey spinoffs are still involved with the development process. That means Goddard, who left Marvel’s Netflix series “Daredevil” to focus on writing and directing Sony’s “Sinister Six,” won’t have done that for nothing. There’s no word yet, however, on the creative direction of the film now that the next “Spider-Man” will feature a new Spidey with presumably a new history that doesn’t include the shenanigans Garfield’s character got into with the Rhino, Green Goblin and Electro in “The Amazing Spider-Man 2.” That’s three of a potential Sinister Six, right there.
Emma Stone
Status: Out
Gwen Stacy’s dead, you guys. Time to move on. Stone’s doing just fine, especially now with an Oscar nomination for “Birdman” under her belt. She next stars in Cameron Crowe’s “Aloha” and
Alex Kurtzman
Status: In
See Goddard, above. In December, Kurtzman was announced to co-write and direct “Venom,” a film following the classic Spidey villain, and as far as the on-screen universe is concerned, he is still involved in the development process. “Venom” never got an official release date, so it was always further off than “Sinister Six,” which is being pushed back from its original 2016 release.
Paul Giamatti, Dane DeHaan and Jamie Foxx
Status: Unknown
While Garfield and Stone had their exit strategies clearly outlined, things are less certain for this trio of actors who debuted as Spidey villains in “The Amazing Spider-Man 2,” which seemed to be a clear set-up for the “Sinister Six” movie. It’s possible Giamatti, DeHaan and Foxx could return to the roles of Rhino, Green Goblin and Electro, respectively, but any decisions regarding casting could be a long ways off with the new “Spider-Man” not even debuting in his own movie until 2017.