The animation will be taking Spider-Man back to his graphic roots and will not interfere with the new live-action Spidey which will be re-introduced at Marvel Cinematic Universe.
- Apr 23, 2015
AceShowbiz - Sony Pictures' new Chairman Tom Rothman announces an untitled animated Spider-Man movie with Phillip A. Lord and Christopher Miller as masterminds. The director duo behind Warner Brothers' wildly-popular animation "The Lego Movie" is entrusted to write the treatment and produce the upcoming film.
The animated movie "will exist independently of the projects in the live-action Spider-Man universe," which is getting a reboot under the partnership between Sony and Marvel. The new live-action flick is scheduled for July 28, 2017, while the animation is expected to arrive a year later on July 20, 2018.
The live-action Spidey will be produced by Marvel's Kevin Feige. Meanwhile, the animated webslinger will involve Avi Arad and Matt Tolmach, the producers of "The Amazing Spider-Man" series which was canceled after only two movies. Amy Pascal, former Sony chief who now works as a producer for the studio, will serve as a producer for both the love-action and animation projects.
The animation will "explore the graphic roots of the character and co-exist with our live action entries," Rothman says during a visit to CinemaCon. He also gushes, "This is something quite unlike anything you have ever seen before. The highly technical term for it is it's awesome."
As for the live-action Spidey, he will be re-introduced in "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" (May 6, 2016). It will focus on Peter Parker during his high school years but avoid origin stories. Nat Wolff, Asa Butterfield, Tom Holland, Timothee Chalamet, and Liam James are among the candidates to play the hero.
Phil Lord and Chris Miller have frequently worked for Sony in the past. They made their directorial debut with "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs" before helming "21 Jump Street" franchise for the studio. After WB's "The Lego Movie", they were reportedly offered to direct "%Ghostbusters%" reboot by Sony, but turned it down.
Lord and Miller will continue working with Warner Bros. by producing "The Lego Movie Sequel" and all the upcoming spin-offs which include "Ninjago" and "The Lego Batman Movie". The pair are also writing "The Flash" movie for the studio.
