Here’s Why ‘The Amazing Spider-Man 3’ Was Shelved

Once upon a time, a threequel to The Amazing Spider-Man starring Andrew Garfield was in the works. Is it ever going to happen? The answer lies in the thorny politics between Sony and Marvel Studios.

The tangled web of the three Spider-Men

The Amazing Spider-Man first came out in 2012, kicking off Andrew Garfield’s run as the web-slinging Peter Parker. However, the film was the product of a flurry of negotiations and licensing dilemmas at Sony, which had a tenuous hold on the film rights to Spider-Man. Sony had already successfully produced a Spider-Man trilogy starring Tobey Maguire, with films coming out in 2002, 2004, and 2007. However, Sony had a strict deal with Marvel: if it didn’t get a new Spider-Man film into theaters within five years and nine months of the previous film’s release, then the film rights would revert to Marvel. After the success of Maguire’s films, Sony didn’t want to give those profits up.

The studio originally tapped Sam Raimi to direct a fourth Spider-Man film, but when the director bowed out, they rebooted the series instead. Enter Andrew Garfield, and a slightly different franchise title.

The first film in the Amazing Spider-Man series did well, grossing $758 million at the box office. However, when its first sequel came out, the results were disappointing: the movie earned $709 million, falling short of both Sony’s expectations and the movie’s predecessor. As a result, plans for The Amazing Spider-Man 3 were ultimately scrapped.

There was another factor at play, though: the enormously successful Marvel Cinematic Universe. Sony eventually cut a deal with Marvel to allow a rebooted Spider-Man to appear in 2016’s Captain America: Civil War. The success of Tom Holland’s Spider-Man—and the savvy strategy of plugging the character into the MCU, where he could interact with other popular characters like Iron Man and Doctor Strange—eventually allowed Sony to revitalize its own Spider-Man movies with Spider-Man: Homecoming, Spider-Man: Far From Home, and Spider-Man: No Way Home.

What does the future hold for Andrew Garfield’s Spider-Man?

At this time, Sony hasn’t announced any official plans to revive The Amazing Spider-Man 3. Instead, it’s focusing on Spider-Man 4 with Tom Holland, and its Spider-Man villain movies, like the upcoming Kraven the Hunter.

But who knows what the future could hold? If the deafening cheers in theaters nationwide when Garfield appeared in No Way Home are any indication, there could be a future for Garfield’s Spidey yet.

(featured image: Sony Pictures)