Spider-Man to stay in Marvel Cinematic Universe after Sony deal

Spider-Man fans are rejoicing after Sony Pictures and Marvel announced a third Spider-Man film with Tom Holland, allaying fears that the two companies had parted company.

In August, Sony said it was "disappointed" not to be working with Disney on future Spider-Man films amid reports that they could not reach a fresh deal over the web-slinging superhero.

They hammered out a deal on 26 September, according to Variety.

Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige said: "I am thrilled that Spidey's journey in the MCU will continue, and I and all of us at Marvel Studios are very excited that we get to keep working on it."

Feige played a big creative role in the last two Spider-Man films, and successfully integrated Holland's character into its multi-billion dollar Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).

He added that Spider-Man was "the only hero with the superpower to cross cinematic universes, so as Sony continues to develop their own Spidey-verse you never know what surprises the future might hold".

Sony Pictures' Robert Lawson said they were "delighted to be moving forward together".

Holland celebrated on Instagram. He featured a clip of Leonardo DiCaprio in The Wolf of Wall Street saying: "I'm not... leaving - the show goes on!"

Fans could barely contain their excitement.

The film rights to the superhero are owned by Sony, but he was able to appear in movies like Avengers: Endgame due to a deal between Sony and Marvel Studios, which is owned by Disney.

Variety added that the new film is expected to hit cinemas on 16 July 2021.

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