Spider-Man very nearly cameoed in upcoming Marvel flick Captain America: Civil War, despite his cinematic rights belonging to Sony.
In recent leaked emails, following a massive Sony hack from North Koreans hacked, it was revealed that Sony and Marvel executives had been discussing the possibility of a crossover.
Marvel Studios own the rights to the Avengers, while Sony own the rights to Spider-Man, and as such a crossover has long seemed impossible.
But The Amazing Spider-Man 2 was a critical and commercial disappointment, and the Civil War timeline in the original comics heavily featured Peter Parker.
An email from Sony Pictures president Doug Belgrad raised the possibility of a brand new Spider-Man trilogy, produced by Marvel Studios, that would see Sony retain "creative control, marketing and distribution."
However, discussions broke down, and it does not currently look likely that the two cinematic universes will merge.
It's the latest in a big fallout from the hack, thought to have been triggered by Seth Rogen's North Korea-set comedy The Interview, which has seen emails, sensitive documents, and unreleased movies leak onto the internet.
Source: http://www.sky.com/