It’s been speculated that other Marvel heroes would turn up in Sony’s reboot of the Spider-Man franchise, Spider-Man: Homecoming. But now it’s official: Spidey has not only landed an Avenger, he’s landed the most profitable Avenger. Sorry, Deadpool, but perhaps your time will come.
Yes, according to the Hollywood Reporter, Robert Downey Jr. will be appearing as Iron Man in Spider-Man: Homecoming. This won’t be part of his Marvel contract, either, as he’s signed a separate deal to appear in the movie. It’s not clear yet whether Shellhead and Webhead will hang out past the first movie, as that wasn’t disclosed by Marvel or Sony, but it does make sense: Iron Man tends to make a lot of money at the box office, but Spider-Man has seen diminishing returns by any metric. Marvel would like to see Spidey back on top of the box office heap, and Iron Man might be the way to do it.
It does, however, set up some intriguing questions to follow on from the upcoming Captain America: Civil War. It’s been rumored Spider-Man has a more substantial role in the movie than we thought, getting a good half-hour or so of screen-time and being mentored by Iron Man. In the original comics, Spidey joins Iron Man’s side and gets a shiny new suit for his loyalty, before the sudden death of a hero makes him change his mind and switch sides. Will the same happen here? Or will Pete and Tony remain friends? We’ll find out May 6, when Captain America: Civil War arrives.
(via the Hollywood Reporter)
