Disney has their Marvel Cinematic Universe, Fox has the X-Men Franchise, and Sony has Spider-Man. But the thing that Disney and Fox’s superhero franchises have that Sony doesn’t is a self contained universe or cohesive storyline (no matter how sloppy the X-Men chronology really is). Sony had rebooted the franchise completely, leaving Sam Raimi’s version unfinished. So in attempts to make sure that doesn’t happen again, the studio made plans to make films until at least The Amazing Spider-Man 4. It has been rumored that these films would build up to the webslinger facing off against the Sinister Six and that fourth film would not be a traditional webslinger film in a sense, instead turning its attention to other characters in Spider-Man lore.

Now we are seeing how that may work as plans for Spider-Man spinoff films have surfaced. According to The Wrap, Sony Pictures exec Amy Pascal told investors “We are going to access Marvel’s full world of Spider-Man characters, so be on the lookout for new heroes and villains.”

It’s not entirely surprising that the 2013 San Diego Comic-Con panel for The Amazing Spider-Man 2 was just about that and not the forthcoming sequels that Sony had announcement a few months back. It is really hard to tell what the studio has planned for the iconic hero, but considering that The Amazing Spider-Man 3 opens in 2016 and The Amazing Spider-Man 4 in 2018, there is more than enough time to plan and release bits of news. Releasing a trilogy has becoming more commonplace, but going forth with a quadrilogy is a rarity. Keeping the story fresh and the character interesting throughout four films is even more of a daunting task.

However, director Marc Webb feels up to the challenge. The director made a few comments at the San Diego Comic-Con this past weekend to talk about the sequels and how he intends to keep audiences interested in the Webslinger.

Ever since Sony announced that they were releasing The Amazing Spider-Man 3 and The Amazing Spider-Man 4 in the coming years, Shailene Woodley‘s role as Mary Jane was thrown into the rumor mill. In a matter of hours Woodley’s involvement went from being cut out of two and introduce her in 3, to her being cut out from the film entirely. Part of this reason is because Woodley is on contract to appear in an adaptation of the Divergent novel series, which is more than just one book, which also conflicts with her schedule.

It has been made clear that Mary Jane would not be a vital part of The Amazing Spider-Man 2 to begin with, and that her biggest role would be in the sequel. Not too long after director Marc Webb made his announcement to streamline the Mary Jane character to focus on Peter Parker (Andrew Garfield) and Gwen Stacy’s relationship, EW Canada reports that Sarah Gadon (A Dangerous Mind, Cosmopolis) has reportedly signed on to appear in the film, which could possibly mean that Woodley’s replacement has been found.

Hot off the news that Sony has announced the release dates for The Amazing Spider-Man 3 and The Amazing Spider-Man 4 comes word that The Spectacular Now star Shailene Woodley, who was set to make a brief appearance as Mary Jane Watson in The Amazing Spider-Man 2 and have an expanded role in the third film, will not be appearing in the sequel after all.

It’s been confirmed that the Mary Jane role has been cut from the second film entirely, and that her character will be introduced in the third film. Not only that, but it looks like Woodley might not be there to play the part.

Marc Webb‘s is well into production on The Amazing Spider-Man 2, and Sony must like what they are seeing because they have announced release dates for The Amazing Spider Man 3 and The Amazing Spider-Man 4. This also shows the amount of confidence the studio has in this highly anticipated sequel. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 opens in theaters May 2, 2014, which will be followed by The Amazing Spider-Man 3 opening on June 10, 2016, and The Amazing Spider-Man 4 opening on May 4, 2018.

Announcing these release dates only adds to the rumor that the studio wants to create a Spider-Man Cinematic Universe, and that each film will build up to the Sinister Six. We’ve already seen some photos of Jamie Foxx as Electro, and Paul Giamatti as the Rhino. Then there is the rumor that Colm Feore could be the Vulture. The sequel also has Chris Cooper playing Norman Osborne, who could end up being the Green Goblin. Finally there’s Dane Dehaan who plays Harry Osborne, who could also end up following in his father’s footsteps.