Fans have long hoped to see Spider-Man somehow join his brothers in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Alas, this has been nothing more than a dream -- like that time Uncle Ben showed up again in Spider-Man 2! For competing studio Sony has the rights to Spidey’s cinematic adventures, while the Avengers and their ilk belong to Marvel Studios… and never the twain shall meet.

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Or so we all thought. But recent reports have revealed that Sony and Marvel have in fact had discussions about somehow sharing the wallcrawler, with Spider-Man possibly even making a cameo in Captain America: Civil War . The initial talks between the studios eventually ceased, but rumors indicate that the door may not be quite closed on such a deal.Will the two parties ever come to terms on Peter Parker and his alter ego? Who can say, but we can at least have some fun speculating about the possibilities that this raises. If Spider-Man were to cross-over to the Marvel movieverse, which Spidey would it be? How would it happen? How would he be utilized? Here are a few ideas…This is super-unlikely, sure, but think about it. What if it turned out the original Sam Raimi films existed in the MCU, but we never knew it? That could lead to Spidey entering the fray of Civil War in the person of the first big-screen wallcrawler, Tobey Maguire! This would then open the door to a return to the Raimi/Maguire Spider-Man 4 that never happened. But also, we could explore the adventures of an older, more seasoned webhead and, in the process, avoid the origin story for a change. And I’m sure we’d all be happy about that.While Andrew Garfield’s days in the red and blue tights might be over at this point , one option that could be palatable to Sony -- and more specifically, Amazing Spider-Man producers Matt Tolmach and Avi Arad -- would be to keep Garfield going in Amazing Spider-Man 3 (and beyond) while also lending him out to Marvel for events like Civil War. This kind of deal would tie Sony’s faltering franchise into the super-popular Marvel Studios line-up, no doubt giving it a boost in the process, but also leaving Sony some measure of autonomy. Plus, seeing Spidey in Civil War would be just nuts. Which leads us to…Think of the success Marvel has had with their handling of the Hulk. After the green goliath was reintroduced in his own film, The Incredible Hulk, to middling results, the studio chose to sideline the character until The Avengers. And we haven’t seen him since (with the exception of a Bruce Banner cameo in Iron Man 3), despite the breakout popularity of the gamma-irradiated one in Avengers. Perhaps utilizing Spider-Man more sparingly in such a manner would make the character’s appearances in the MCU similarly special. Think of limiting him to Avengers movies or a cameo here or there… maybe Spidey doesn’t really need his own franchise for a while.For those who don’t know, Miles Morales is the teenager who took over for Peter Parker in Marvel’s Ultimate universe when Parker died. He’s also of Black Hispanic descent, bringing some diversity to the world of the wallcrawler. Sure, the MCU is already pushing in that direction with the planned Black Panther movie, but diversity isn’t the only reason why Miles would be a fun route to go for the studio. The character is also quite popular with fans, and since he’s from an alternate reality, Miles could be Marvel’s Spidey while Peter Parker (as played by Andrew Garfield or whoever) could still exist for Sony’s movies. In fact, the whole notion of alternate realities opens up a ton of possibilities. Why not have the X-Men pop in from 20th Century Fox some time as well for an Avengers/Spidey/mutant spectacular?Truth be told, this is probably the most realistic scenario here: Marvel would likely want to start fresh with their own Spider-Man, recasting a new actor and not relying on any of the continuity from the Maguire or Garfield movies. If this was anyone else trying to pull such a move, things would be dicey. But since it’s Marvel, you gotta trust them at this point. Let the fan-casting begin!Marvel Team-Up was a great comics series (several series, actually) that typically featured Spider-Man teaming up with another character. A movie version of this concept could make for an excellent way to give Spidey fresh new adventures, allowing him to bounce off of new characters (both hero and villain). But it could also serve as the perfect testing ground for Marvel to introduce less well known characters to the public. The late Batman: The Brave and the Bold animated series used a similar approach to great effect, serving both the Caped Crusader and his allies well.O.K., this is a joke, but hey… word has it that Marvel has been considering Morgan Freeman for a role in Doctor Strange . And he did appear on the old Electric Company “Spidey Super Stories” adventures. What else might Marvel and Freeman be talking about? Hmmm…How do you guys think Marvel should or could bring Spidey back? Vote in our poll below......and of course discuss in the comments too!

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