The chances of Spider-Man returning to Marvel films have been dealt a blow after a Sony executive said “for the moment the door is closed”.
Sony, which owns the film rights to the character, announced last month it had failed to reach an agreement with Marvel’s parent company, Walt Disney Studios, over future movies.
It effectively ruled Tom Holland’s Spider-Man out of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, to the anger of many fans.
Now, Sony Pictures chairman and CEO Tony Vinciquerra has appeared to rule out a return in the near future.
Speaking at a summit in Los Angeles, he said “for the moment the door is closed” when asked about Spider-Man’s involvement in the MCU.
However, he did leave fans with a glimmer of hope when he added: “It’s a long life.”
While Spider-Man is perhaps Marvel’s most famous superhero, Sony has held the film rights since the late 1990s.
Sony and Disney had come to a landmark agreement in 2015, meaning the web-slinger joined the MCU in 2016’s Captain America: Civil War.
However, the deal was not renewed.
Sony now plans to launch its own series of films based on the vast array of Spider-Man characters.
They include Tom Hardy returning to star in a sequel to 2018’s Venom.