. I have a feeling that what we'll see here is some co-production ideas that will eventually end when Sony's contract does expire - unless they have some ability to renew or anything like that.
My understanding is these deals are contingent on the studio in question making movies with the character. Once they get a series going, they don't have an expiration date provided they keep making movies, which is why the odds of Disney ever getting Spider-Man back are so unlikely. All Sony needs to do is make a cheap low-budget movie with Spidey and they retain the rights until they decide they don't want to make any more movies. It's the same for Fox with the X-Men and Fantastic Four.
Of course, as much as ASM2 sucked as a film, it still made a huge amount of money that for (virtually) any other film would have been a massive success...so it makes perfect sense for Sony to give it another go, even with a new cast. The Raimi films were genuine blockbusters here and internationally, so much so that I'm surprised they didn't try and go with that 4th movie they abandoned at the last minute (and in hindsight, 3 looks even better as a film after the ASM pictures. It's not on the level of 1 and 2 but I always found it to be unfairly dumped on).
It's a different situation with the likes of Daredevil, which Regency/Fox let lapse, and the Hulk, which Universal tried twice before deciding to hang it up and let Disney have him back. That second film, THE INCREDIBLE HULK, I believe was made with Marvel in the same way this new Spider-Man is being made with both Sony and Marvel involved. Universal still had final say on that 2nd Hulk movie and control over the project but I believe brought Marvel in to a much larger extent than the film where Ang Lee went way, way off the reservation!
This is all a byproduct of when Marvel sold the rights away to these characters a long, long time ago. Disney is having to live with those conditions even today, though there are only a few characters left they don't have (I like this graphic a lot lol):
At the same time, it was publicized that Andrew Garfield is out, and that the plans for additional movies were essentially scrapped. I realize that Sony won't officially say that - it would be too embarrassing, frankly. But the reality is that Sony is doing nothing with the various projects they'd announced and spent millions on before ASM2 failed. No, they haven't officially said that Sinister Six is gone - they've just taken it off the release schedule and said it's "indefinitely delayed". In non-corporate speak, that translates to "It's not happening, but we're not about to admit it in public." (See also the Jedi Mind Trick...)
Sure, but haven't they basically admitted as much by bringing in Marvel and starting over -- and NOT making ASM3 and Sinister Six? I think the Venom movie is/was still on or is being reconfigured. At least they're not making an origin movie this time, and the kid they cast is a teenager.
I thought this Sally Field interview on Howard Stern about ASM was pretty telling:
http://www.cinemablend.com/new/Why-Sall ... 18517.html
