New Spider-Man MCU Trilogy Gets a Reality Check from Producer

Spider-Man is the most profitable character in Marvel Comics’ history, but even that cannot guarantee that his next MCU adventure being just around the corner. As fans await Spider-Man: Brand New Day’s release in cinemas on July 31, one of only two Marvel Cinematic Universe releases this year, producer Amy Pascal has given the franchise a reality check when it comes to this is the start of a new trilogy of adventures for Tom Holland’s Peter Parker.

Tom Holland’s original trilogy as the MCU’s web-slinger ended with Spider-Man: No Way Home in 2021, a pure piece of fan-service in all the right ways, and one that gave a definitive “ending” to Peter Parker’s first years as a superhero. With his identity wiped from the memories of everyone he ever knew, Brand New Day is a clean slate for the character.

So, it has proven, with the new film teaming Spider-Man up with Bruce Banner/Hulk and the Punisher, while taking on The Hand along with… well, we don’t really know. Marvel Studios has managed to hold back on fully revealing the story – always a good thing – in the trailers released so far, which means where Peter will be at the end of it, as the MCU hurtles towards Doomsday and Secret Wars, is also unknown.

There have been several rumours that Brand New Day will kick-start Spider-Man’s next trilogy, including some very detailed potential storylines shared by “scoopers” online, but in a new interview with SFX Magazine, Pascal explained that while there are many avenues available for Spider-Man, nothing is guaranteed.

“Ever since we’ve been making Spider-Man movies with Marvel and the MCU, it has opened up a wealth of opportunity for us,” Pascal said. “Because in the comics, he does interact with all these characters. So that’s been a wonderful opportunity. I never want to be so presumptuous as to say anything is going to be a trilogy or more than one. That would be my dream, of course, but you never know. Because the truth is that the rule that we set for ourselves is to take it one movie at a time. It’s important to us that you don’t have to see one movie to see the other movie.”

Few Superheroes Guarantee the Box Office Success of Spider-Man

Pascal’s comments are interesting on many levels. Marvel Studios has essentially created an ongoing drama series made up of blockbuster movies and additive TV shows that link to each other through characters, locations, and events. This has led to complaints that the franchise has alienated some people who don’t want to have to keep up with every single Marvel release. Pascal’s final note suggests that, even though Spider-Man’s MCU adventures have incorporated many other Marvel characters, the team wants to make sure each film is its own contained story.

The biggest takeaway from the interview is that even though Brand New Day is already predicted to be another huge box office winner, Pascal isn’t looking too far ahead when it comes to more instalments. Although this closes down many of the rumours currently out there about what the next Spider-Man movies could be about, it certainly doesn’t mean Spider-Man won’t have a continued role in the MCU, for a few reasons.

The character is certain to appear in Avengers: Secret Wars, which seems to be Marvel’s reset of the MCU following a troubled Multiverse Saga, and Tom Holland himself has suggested he doesn’t feel he is done with the character yet. With so many Spider-Man stories still to be explored, along with the potential arrival of Miles Morales to eventually take over Peter Parker’s role in the MCU, no one believes Spider-Man’s time on screen is almost at an end.

Of course, the biggest factor in Spider-Man’s future comes down to the contract between Sony and Disney, as tentative and tumultuous as it has been. The current deal reportedly states that to retain the rights to the character, Sony must put a new movie into production within three years and nine months of the previous one’s release, and put it in cinemas within five years and nine months. Having held those rights since their 1999 deal, it seems unlikely they are going to want to let their one guaranteed cash cow slip away any time soon.

(featured image: Disney)

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