So a recent rumor suggests that Sony Pictures and Marvel Studios are talking about connecting Spider-Man with The Avengers. While these rumors have exploded since the most recent report, these rumors have actually been going around for a couple of years. In fact, at one time, there was supposedly a plan to include the Oscorp Tower in the first Avengers movie.

Now, Entertainment Weekly has weighed in to both sort of discredit the rumors and also confirm them in a way. In regards to if Spider-Man will be joining the Avengers on the big screen in the near future, EW says their sources confirm that will not be the case. However, EW then goes on to claim that according to their sources it’s a possibility down the road.

According to their report, Sony isn’t interested in sharing Spider-Man at the moment. Sony is reportedly definitely going ahead with Sinister Six. The studio has a great writer/director in Drew Goddard, so they seem to be confident that he can produce a Spider-Man spinoff that will be a hit with audiences.

However, if Sinister Six flops, then reportedly Sony could consider doing a deal with Marvel Studios. Of course, this is nothing different than most fans without sources have speculated online. Sony has to make a film utilizing the Spider-Man characters every three years in order to retain the license. We’re assuming that Sinister Six will include Spider-Man in some form or fashion and will count as a Spider-Man film.

Common sense is that if Sinister Six failed it would be better for Sony to make a deal with Marvel Studios rather than risk losing more money with another film or having the rights simply revert back to Marvel for free. Of course, as the report points out, this isn’t something that will probably happen quickly. EW is predicting that fans likely wouldn’t have a chance of seeing a Marvel Studios produced Spider-Man movie until 2020 at the earliest.

From a logic standpoint, EW’s report reads like the most common fan Internet speculation. However, there’s one possibility that EW doesn’t really dwell on that much. What if Sony struck a deal with Marvel Studios to allow Spider-Man to take part in the Avengers or other big event movies in the Marvel Studios universe, but they retained the rights to produce Spider-Man standalone movies.

While such a deal would be complicated to work out, it could be in the best interest of both studios. Captain America, Iron Man, and Thor sequels certainly saw a lift after their characters appeared in the Avengers, and it would be likely that Spider-Man’s solo movies would see the same lift as well.