Marvel Studios Kevin Feige is geeking out just as much as the rest of Marvel fans about Spider-Man getting a chance to join the MCU. Through a partnership with Sony Pictures , the web-slinging superhero, being played by Tom Holland, will first be introduced in 2016's Captain America: Civil War before getting a standalone movie in 2017.

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During a Q&A promoting the Blu-ray release of Avengers: Age of Ultron, Feige opened up to reporters about how special bringing 15-year-old Spider-Man into the MCU is for him. He reflected about how he first worked on the original Spider-Man trilogy during his early days at Marvel, and how he appreciated Sony's vote of confidence in handing their flagship superhero franchise back into Marvel Studios' hands."Making that agreement ... was great, and was really amazing, and on a personal level making these movies, it means a lot because I think we can do great things with Spider-Man," Feige said. "I think Spider-Man can serve great purpose in our universe and that's where he belongs. That was what was unique about him in the comics was not that he was the only superhero in the world; it's that he was a totally different kind of superhero when compared against all the other ones in the Marvel universe at the time."Since the Marvel/Sony Spider-Man deal only became official in February, one reporter asked Feige about how Marvel will incorporate the character into the MCU relatively late in the game. After noting that "it's not about when you show up, it's about what you do once you're there," Feige explained that Marvel's creative team had a Spider-Man backup plan to be prepared if his addition fell into place."This has been a dream of ours for a long time," Feige said. "We always had contingency plans, which we always do anyway. Are we going to be able to make another deal with this actor? If so, we're going to do this; if not, we're going to do this. If we get the rights to a certain character, that's great; we're going to do this. If not, we're going to do this. We always sort of operate under those various alternate timelines available and ready to shift if something happens."Feige also noted that "the most important thing as a standalone is relaunching Spider-Man in his own standalone movie with his own storylines that fits into this universe. That is job number one for us. ... The connectivity is great, but it doesn't drive the train."Despite Spider-Man being introduced in Civil War, Feige reiterated that the film is "very much Cap's story" and it's "very much a sequel to the Winter Soldier." He talked a bit about how Civil War will balance the many, many superheroes included in its roster , crediting screenwriters Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely for keeping the balance right."There were a lot of characters in The Winter Soldier, but it felt like a very singular and relatively simple thriller. Civil War follows in that same way," Feige said. "I think that's something [directors Joe and Anthony Russo] pride themselves on, and our screenwriters Chris Markus and Steve McFeely are excellent at giving each character just enough. They're not full arcs for everybody; it's just enough that their presence is felt and important, but that the very clear single story that is being told is being served at all times."Captain America: Civil War hits theaters on May 6, 2016, while Avengers: Age of Ultron is out on 3D Blu-ray Combo Pack, Blu-ray, DVD, Digital SD and On-Demand on October 2nd.

Terri Schwartz is Entertainment Editor for IGN. Follow her on Twitter at @Terri_Schwartz