It’s been a really rough time for Sony as the studio’s e-mails and sensitive materials have been hacked by a mysterious group, and confidential details have been leaking left and right. The latest pieces of information picked up from Sony’s hacked internal e-mails have to do with Spider-Man—a character that’s in a bit of flux right now as Sony has been trying to sort out what to do next following the critical and commercial disappointment of ‘Amazing Spider-Man 2.’ As it turns out, Sony has indeed spoken with Marvel about a potential crossover, and that’s not all they’ve been planning to salvage the character.

The Wall Street Journal came across internal e-mails regarding Spidey, in which Sony motion pictures chief Amy Pascal was corresponding with various executives about the possibility of a crossover with Marvel Studios and Disney. In an e-mail dated October 30, Sony Pictures president Doug Belgrad told Pascal about a possible scenario in which Marvel would produce a new trilogy of ‘Spider-Man’ films, while Sony would retain all of the “creative control, marketing and distribution.”

Another e-mail features Pascal telling a business partner that Marvel wants to include Spider-Man in ‘Captain America: Civil War.’ Spidey has a fairly prominent role in the Civil War storyline from the comic books, and we’ve all been wondering if Sony and Marvel might be able to work together to allow Spider-Man to crossover for this major event.

Unfortunately, Marvel and Sony could not reach an agreement, so rather than relying on Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige or coyly optimistic statements from Stan Lee about a potential crossover, we now have a much more definitive answer: Nope … at least not for the time being.

And it seems as though Sony is content to move forward with new plans for Spider-Man. Other e-mails reference the reported spinoff projects, including ‘Sinister Six’ and the Venom movie, as well as the all-female Spider-Man movie, which is operating under the presumably temporary title ‘Glass Ceiling.’

Additionally, Sony is also planning an animated Spider-Man comedy, which would be produced by Phil Lord and Chris Miller, the filmmaking duo behind the ‘21 Jump Street’ movies and this year’s outstanding hit ‘The LEGO Movie.’

We’ve reported on many rumors regarding the future of the ‘Spider-Man’ franchise over the last few months, and it seems as though many are true: yes, they’re still working on ‘Sinister Six,’ and yes, there’s been talk of a Venom movie. But the glaring omission from these e-mail exchanges is the fate of Spider-Man himself. Will Andrew Garfield reprise his role as the web-shooting hero? Are they planning on making a third ‘Amazing Spider-Man’ movie? For now it seems as though Sony has put Spidey on the back burner as they focus on various related projects.

 

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