Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige took part in a Q&A this week to promote the release of Avengers: Age of Ultron, and the subject of Spider-Man and his role in next year's Captain America: Civil War inevitably came up. Talking about the historic deal between Marvel and Sony, he said: "Making that agreement ... was great, and was really amazing, and on a personal level making these movies, it means a lot because I think we can do great things with Spider-Man. I think Spider-man can serve great purpose in our universe and that's where he belongs. That was what was unique about him in the comics was not that he was the only superhero in the world; it's that he was a totally different kind of superhero when compared against all the other ones in the Marvel universe at the time." If that doesn't get you excited for this movie, then what will?
After mentioning that "it's not about when you show up, it's about what you do once you're there" in regards to where Spider-Man has been up until now, Feige explained that while they always wanted to bring Peter Parker back into the fold, they had plans just in case that wasn't possible. "This has been a dream of ours for a long time,. We always had contingency plans, which we always do anyway. Are we going to be able to make another deal with this actor? If so, we're going to do this; if not, we're going to do this. If we get the rights to a certain character, that's great; we're going to do this. If not, we're going to do this. We always sort of operate under those various alternate timelines available and ready to shift if something happens." The Marvel boss also went on to point out that, "the most important thing as a standalone is relaunching Spider-Man in his own standalone movie with his own storylines that fits into this universe. That is job number one for us. ... The connectivity is great, but it doesn't drive the train."
However, despite the fact that Tom Holland's Spider-Man is going to be introduced in Captain America: Civil War next year, Feige was quick to reiterate the fact that it's still very much going to be both Steve's story and a follow-up to the events of The Winter Solider. "There were a lot of characters in The Winter Soldier, but it felt like a very singular and relatively simple thriller. Civil War follows in that same way," Feige explained. "I think that's something [directors Joe and Anthony Russo] pride themselves on, and our screenwriters Chris Markus and Steve McFeely are excellent at giving each character just enough. They're not full arcs for everybody; it's just enough that their presence is felt and important, but that the very clear single story that is being told is being served at all times." What do you guys think about these comments from Kevin Feige?