After the huge news that dropped yesterday about Spider-Man possibly joining The Avengers in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, a new report surfaced today that claims Sony may be recasting Spider-Man for The Sinister Six spin-off. Now we have yet another report that says early talks between Sony and Marvel are under way, but cautions that Peter Parker joining the MCU is still a long ways off.

Entertainment Weekly's sources from both Marvel and Sony have confirmed that "delicate preliminary conversations" are under way, but those sources also say that Spider-Man joining forces with The Avengers will not happen in the near future, although it could possibly happen in "a few years from now." This, of course, has not been confirmed by any 'official' representatives from Marvel or Sony.

Sony has to make a new Spider-Man movie every three years, or the rights revert back to Marvel, which is how Marvel was able to re-acquire the rights to Ghost Rider, Daredevil and The Punisher last year. Spider-Man is obviously a much more popular character than the aforementioned superheroes, but Sony hasn't had much success with their new Spider-Man reboots The Amazing Spider-Man and The Amazing Spider-Man 2. Still, sources claim that Sony "resents the idea that now is time to throw in the towel."

While the future of Andrew Garfield and director Marc Webb's The Amazing Spider-Man movies remains uncertain, Sony is still moving forward with The Sinister Six, which the studio sees as their chance to revitalize the whole franchise and put Spider-Man, "back in the good graces of audiences." On the other hand, Sony also realizes this plan can still backfire, and that audiences may just be tired of Spider-Man after a 12-year-stretch that started in 2002 with Sam Raimi's Spider-Man and spanned five movies. Sources say that Sony will only enter "deep negotiations" for a Spider-Man "hero-sharing deal" with Marvel if The Sinister Six fails at the box office in November 2016.

It was also noted that Marvel doesn't need Spider-Man nearly as much as Sony does, with both studios sharing the merchandising revenue. Entertainment Weekly suggests that Marvel might be willing to co-finance some of Sony's movies, in exchange for getting the rights to Spidey back for a cameo appearance in The Avengers sequels and other movies. At any rate, the site also speculates that the only way Marvel won't get the Spider-Man rights back in some way shape or form is if The Sinister Six is a massive success.

Even if Marvel does win back the rights to Spider-Man outright, it is believed that fans won't get to see a Marvel Studios Spider-Man movie until either 2020, 2021 or 2022.

Do you think Sony and Marvel should work out a deal to share the rights to Spider-Man? Chime in with your thoughts below.