Sony Pictures is having one of those months, thanks to a certain cyber attack that leaked many of its internal documents, and everyone from Jennifer Lawrence to Beyonce is mentioned at some point. But the contents of the hack make it clear that the biggest victim in this is the Spider-Man fan, who could probably have expected another reboot in the next few years—with a new actor.

Poor Andrew Garfield. The guy was and is a comic fan's perfect casting choice: the right build, with a dry delivery, a boyish social awkwardness, and a heap of talent that the last two films cramped up. Taking the role away from him and starting from scratch a third time is probably going to yield even fewer new fans. Someone at Sony needs a refresher on the law of diminishing returns.

Conversations at Sony also had Spidey's alter-ego Peter Parker pinned as an adult, or even a woman (gasp! but still no love for Donald Glover). There were even talks of an appearance in upcoming Avengers films produced by Marvel, which almost would've redeemed Spider-Man 3.

A quick reminder: Sony has to, by contract, make a Spider-Man movie every five years or so, otherwise all of the licenses automatically revert back to Marvel, and they lose a huge asset. It already happened with Daredevil.

Here's what Sony can do to save our web-slinging superhero:

1. Play ball with Marvel.

Marvel will pay just about anything to use Spider-Man in its film universe. If you make an offer, Disney will probably take it. And if Sony refuses, 100 percent of nothing is still nothing. A deal could provide new opportunities: "All right, we'll give you Parker for two Avengers films, but we want to use Nick Fury and the S.H.I.E.L.D. kids in the next film."

2. No more "reboots."

In fact, just stop using the term, even if you decide to jump around in the decades-old arc of Spider-Man. Make everything fit together (like Marvel does). It's working for them, isn't it?

3. Keep Andrew Garfield (if you can).

Don't get a new actor unless Garfield quits of his own volition. Garfield is great, especially if he's willing to sign on for more films. The biggest problem Marvel is going to have five years from now is continuity, when Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Mark Ruffalo, Jeremy Renner, and Chris Hemsworth all move on to other things. If Garfield is willing, sign him for 10 pictures. Upsell half of those off to Marvel, and everybody wins.

4. Stay away from origin stories—forever.

There are two perfectly acceptable origin stories already available on DVD, Blu-ray, and streaming formats. If Sony decides to reboot the series again, with Peter played by an actual spider or something, great. But what value does another origin story have to audiences? Tell a new goddamn story, not a new draft of the old one.

5. No seriously, push Marvel to use Spidey in every film.

Audiences love crossover films. Look how excited everyone is that Downey will appear in Captain America: Civil War in 2016. We'd like to see the part of the Avengers film in which young Spider-Man struggles to choose sides between his two mentors: Captain America and Iron Man. We'd like to watch Parker, Stark, and Banner nerd out in a science lab and create something cool—or just make beer. We'd even like to see the buddy comedy with Spider-Man and longtime pal Wolverine, if they want to join the party. Sure, both sides need to be willing to commit, but every time fans hear that something almost happened but didn't, they start resenting executives. And then bloggers start trashing new projects out of bitterness that they didn't see Oscorp Tower in the background of the first Avengers film.

There, Sony, that's what the moviegoing public actually wants to pay money for. You have an asset that can make all of that happen, and right now it's a seller's market. Start playing the game, or eventually so few people are going to see the rehashed canned crap you're putting out that it won't be worth it to make the movies. With great power... oh never mind.

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