Sony Pictures has announced that it is scrapping plans for a fourth installment of its popular Spider-Man movie franchise. The news comes as a surprise to many fans of the series, which has been a box office success since its debut in 2002.
The decision to scrap the fourth movie was reportedly made due to creative differences between Sony and Marvel Studios, which owns the rights to the Spider-Man character. Sony had been in talks with Marvel to extend their partnership, but the two sides could not come to an agreement.
The Spider-Man franchise has been a major success for Sony, grossing over $2.5 billion worldwide. The first three movies starred Tobey Maguire as Peter Parker/Spider-Man, and were directed by Sam Raimi. The third movie, Spider-Man 3, was released in 2007 and grossed over $890 million worldwide.
The fourth movie was set to be directed by Marc Webb, who helmed the 2012 reboot The Amazing Spider-Man and its 2014 sequel. It was also set to star Andrew Garfield as Peter Parker/Spider-Man.
Sony has not yet announced what it plans to do with the Spider-Man franchise now that the fourth movie has been scrapped. It is possible that the studio could move forward with a fifth movie, or even a reboot of the series.
For now, fans of the franchise will have to wait and see what Sony has in store for the future of Spider-Man.
Sony Pictures has officially nixed their plans for a fourth installment of its popular Spider-Man franchise. The news came as a shock to many Spider-Man fans as the series has become one of Sony Pictures’ most successful franchises since 2002.
While further details were not released, Sony Pictures did state that the departure from the franchise was on mutual grounds and the two companies have parted on amicable terms. The turmoil began when Marvel Studios and Disney requested co-funding on the film, yet Sony refused the offer and chose to move in another direction.
Sony Pictures plans on expanding its Spider-Man universe with stand-alone movies such as “Venom” and “Morbius: The Living Vampire”, with the support of Marvel Studios.
The first three Spider-Man films starring Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst created over $2.5 billion in box office gross and made Spider-Man one of the most profitable superheroes franchises of all time.
The most recent adaptation of the comic book featured Tom Holland as the web-slinger and followed the hapless teenager’s struggles to manage his abilities while at the same time combating a plethora of villains such as the Vulture, Doctor Octopus, and Mysterio.
While fan speculation has started as to which direction the franchise could have gone, the news of Sony wishing to explore a different path has been met with understanding from fans who still hope for more Spider-Man films.
With both Sony and Marvel Studios joining forces, the future of the franchise now seems more secure than ever, allowing Spider-Man to continue his journey across the big screen.
