If there is any superhero who has seen a lot of screen-time in the 2000s, it's Spider-Man. The first film about the character, starring Tobey Maguire, was released in 2002, and since then there have been an additional four films revolving around him (not to mention his appearance in Captain America: Civil War). And yet Spider-Man's cinematic stardom is far from over; in early 2015, Sony announced that the studio would be making a reboot of Spider-Man in collaboration with Marvel. Fans were naturally thrilled by this news, but also wanted to know when the Spider-Man movie will come out, to prepare themselves for the hero's return. The answer, however, may cause mixed emotions.
The movie is slated for a July 2017 release, which seems pretty far away. But in comparison to the scheduled released dates of some other Marvel Cinematic Universe movies, it's actually not so bad. For example, Black Panther and Captain Marvel won't be coming out until 2018. And in fact, these movies' release dates were actually pushed back in order to make room for Spider-Man in the MCU. So if anything, Spider-Man fans should feel pretty lucky (and maybe even a little sheepish) that the reboot was strategically slid into a summer 2017 release slot.
There's another little piece of good news for Spidey fans: the reboot was originally scheduled to come out on July 28, 2017, but in January Sony stated that Spider-Man would be moved up to July 7, 2017. July 7 was originally going to be the release date for the next Pirates of the Caribbean movie, but now that one will be released in May 2017. So much shifting, and yet all to Spider-Man's benefit.
As the release date draws nearer (albeit, very slowly), details are trickling in about the film. The next Spider-Man will once again find Peter Parker in high school, and this time he'll be a mere 15 years old. Tom Holland will play the titular role, which is a bit more age-appropriate than past castings (Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield were both in their late 20s when they played the high schooler).
It was recently revealed that the working title is Spider-Man: Homecoming, which would make sense given that the movie signifies the superhero's first appearance in the MCU and therefore his return to the Marvel brand. Personally, I think that the title may also pay tribute to the fact that Peter Parker has once again been catapulted back into the land of high school. Hopefully, the excitement surrounding the new movie will be enough to ensure that the July 2017 release date won't get pushed back, although it's undeniable that a lot can change in a year in the world of Hollywood. So sit tight and cross your fingers, Spidey fans, that everything stays on track.
Images: Walt Disney Studios, Giphy
