‘Captain America’ Directors Sign With Sony Following Spider-Man Deal

Captain America: The Winter Soldier directing duo Joe and Anthony Russo have established themselves quite nicely over at Marvel Studios — not only are they directing Captain America: Civil War, but it’s been all-but-confirmed that the pair will helm both parts of Avengers: Infinity War. In a curious bit of news regarding the Russos, the brothers have just signed a deal with Sony following an agreement between the studio and Marvel over the rights to Spider-Man. Curious indeed.

The Wrap is reporting that the Russos have signed a three-year, first-look deal with Sony, which will be well underway by the time Captain America: Civil War hits theaters in 2016. There are a few things that make this deal particularly interesting:

In leaked e-mails following the Sony hack, the Russos expressed regret that Sony and Marvel weren’t able to reach an agreement regarding Spider-Man, and expressed interest in producing a new Spider-Man film. Meanwhile, the brothers have been slated to direct The Gray Man for Sony since 2014, and not only does that look like it’s still happening, but it will likely be a part of their new deal.

But perhaps more interesting to note is that this news comes on the heels of Marvel and Sony’s Spider-Man deal. Just yesterday it was reported that Drew Goddard might be directing the new Spider-Man reboot, but The Wrap contradicted that report—apparently Goddard is just one of the directors being considered for the job.

Could the Russos be involved in producing the new Spider-Man film? Or are they being considered to direct? Both of these possibilities seem viable given their outstanding work at Marvel.

Captain America: Civil War is scheduled to hit theaters on May 6, 2016.