Spider-man / Captain America crossover movie discussed by Sony and Marvel executives

IF Superman and Batman can share a movie, why can’t Captain America and Spiderman? Leaked emails show studio executives discussed the possibility.

IF Superman and Batman can exist in the same universe, and hence the same movie, why can’t Captain America and Spiderman?

This is the question being asked in comic forums everywhere after it was revealed that Sony and Marvel had discussed the possibility of Spider-man appearing in the third Captain America movie, Civil War, scheduled to hit cinemas in 2016.

The revelation was contained in the tranche of information released in the Sony hack, which has revealed a vast range of inside industry information to date, including the secret names some celebrities use to check into hotels, and withering criticisms of Angelina Jolie.

Latest outing ... Jamie Foxx and Andrew Garfield in The Amazing Spider-Man 2. Picture: Supplied

The Wall Street Journal quoted an email from Sony motion picture chief Amy Pascal, who said Marvel had wanted to include Spider-Man in the next Captain America film, which is also rumoured to include Iron Man.

According to the film’s IMDB entry, Civil War will turn former Avenger allies Captain America (Chris Evans) and Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr) against each other.

It is not known how Spider-Man was envisaged to appear in the movie, but the rumoured plot features government attempts to control human beings who possess superhuman powers.

Next outing ... Marvel's Avengers: Age Of Ultron will feature Captain America (Chris Evans) and Thor (Chris Hemsworth). Picture: Jay Maidment

The Wall Street Journal reported that talks about a Spider-Man / Captain America crossover foundered, and Sony executives will be meeting next month to discuss future plans for Spider-Man.

Sony retains the license for the Spider-Man character, but the hacked emails also revealed there had been discussions about usage rights reverting to Marvel under an arrangement which would keep creative, marketing and distribution decisions in Sony’s control.

Sony has produced two movies under the Amazing Spider-Man banner starring Andrew Garfield as the web-shooting superhero, the second of which proved to a critical and commercial disappointment.

Captain America: The First Avenger (2011) and Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014) were both box office successes.

Those two movies sit within the complex suite of interlocking Marvel films, which also include the Thor films and this year’s Guardians of the Galaxy.

The next film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe series will be Avengers: Age of Ultron, which will also feature the return ofg Thor (Chris Hemsworth), the Incredible Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) and the Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson). It’s due for release on May 1, 2015.

Originally published as Spider-man / Captain America crossover movie discussed by Sony and Marvel executives