Last night the comic book world experienced a shake up when it was confirmed that Marvel and Sony made a deal to share Spider-Man. Marvel will not have full rights to the character, as Sony still retains the marketing and final creative control. However, studio head Kevin Feige will co-produce alongside Amy Pascal.

News of a “new Spider-Man” being introduced brought up a couple of questions about the current Spider-Man. The current franchise reboot, The Amazing Spider-Man, has already had two films and launched potential spinoffs. The press release used the word “new” meaning that everything we have come to know about The Amazing Spider-Man and its potential spinoffs are moot.

But a new report suggests otherwise, and that some things are changing while others will remain the same. Hit the jump to find out more.

The Wall Street Journal answered a lot of the questions that are on everybody’s mind since last night’s announcement.

When will Spider-Man debut in the MCU?

The announcement has already got Marvel to push back the release dates of four of their films. While Avengers: Age of Ultron and Ant-Man are seen as very long shots, we shouldn’t rule the after-credits stingers. Avengers had one filmed shortly after the press screenings, and the Guardians of the Galaxy after-credit scene was held back from the press until the witching hour. However, I doubt they have cast anyone at this point, or they already have and are just keeping it to themselves.

But it’s likely that Spider-Man will have a proper introduction in Captain America: Civil War. This will unlikely affect Black Panther’s (Chadwick Boseman) role, as it is being described as a “big part of the film.” It’s very possible that the script could be rewritten to add Spider-Man. In the story arc of the same name, Spider-Man does reveal his identity to the world after having kept it a secret for so long.

Will Andrew Garfield reprise his role?

It’s not likely. Nothing has been confirmed, but the press release did say “new Spider-Man,” indicating that they (Kevin Feige and Amy Pascal) are going in a new direction. This was heavily rumored during the Sony hacking scandal back in December. Where that direction points to and what sort of vision the two have for Spider-Man is still unknown at this point.

But they might want to just forgo the origins story (radioactive spider bite and Ben Parker dying) and just dive into the film with Spider-Man as an already established character.

What does this mean for the Sinister Six, Venom, and all female-team spinoffs?

You might think that with the reboot coming, everything else connected to The Amazing Spider-Man franchise would no longer be happening. Garfield didn’t know whether or not he was going to be involved in September, and at this point it really doesn’t matter. However, WSJ says that Sinister Six is still happening, and that people close to the project are “rethinking” the approach to the film. Drew Goddard is currently attached to write and direct, but the film is being pushed back from its November 2016 release.

It’s unclear what will happen to the Alex Kurtzman-directed Venom film, which could very well be cancelled. As for the all female-team, that could happen depending on the outcome of Paul Feig’s all-female Ghostbusters.

[Source: WSJ]