Sony has unveiled long-term plans for the future of one of its prime properties with the announcement that The Amazing Spider-Man 3 and 4 will arrive in 2016 and 2018 respectively.
Last year’s series reboot brought the studio a hefty $750 million worldwide, a figure that gave an immediate green light to a first sequel, which Marc Webb is currently shooting.
“Spider-Man is our most important, most successful, and most beloved franchise,” said Jeff Blake, Sony’s Chairman of Worldwide Marketing and Distribution, “so we’re thrilled that we are in a position to lock in these prime release dates over the next five years.”
It’s a real statement of intent from Sony, particularly given that the second film is not scheduled to hit cinemas until next summer. The third film has been pencilled in for release on 10 June 2016, with the fourth following on 4 May 2018.
It also would appear to limit the possibility of Spider-Man being included in one of Marvel’s Avengers movies, what with Sony hanging on to the character’s rights and clearly mapping out a big future for the franchise.
In the meantime, we can look forward to the release of The Amazing Spider-Man 2 , which opens in the UK on 18 April 2014.
