a fourth film was dropped, but Spider–Man's character did not. In 2012, just as Marvel was in the middle of film trilogies such as Captain America and Iron Man, Andrew Garfield took over. This era saw an increase in film quality: There was real chemistry between co–stars Garfield and Emma Stone, and this new Spidey was seen as far cuter and more charismatic than his predecessor. However, after two films, Garfield’s version of the character was thrown away. Citing reasons of artistic differences, failing box offices, and hacked emails, Garfield was dropped from the role in 2014, cutting his time as Spider–Man short of a trilogy.

Raimi’s Spider–Man films began in 2002 before the MCU even released movies. Garfield's films, however, were released alongside Marvel hits such as Guardiansof the Galaxy and Captain America: The Winter Soldier. While the original Spider–Man films had been the catalyst for the MCU, Garfield’s films were now competition.

After 2014, however, Marvel and Sony came to an agreement. At this point, Sony had owned the rights to Peter Parker for 15 years, had created five separate films in his name, and generated almost four billion dollars at the box office in total. However, Marvel Studios was growing tired of their cinematic universe lacking its most famous superhero, and their desire to acquire Spider–Man grew.

In February 2015, a deal was struck between Disney and Sony: Spidey was allowed to appear in Marvel’s Cinematic Universe, but Marvel would only receive about 5% of the Spider–Man films' total box office revenue. Sony would still