The appearance of Spider-Man in this summer’s Captain America: Civil War would’ve been highly unlikely a few years ago. With Sony, not Marvel, holding the theatrical right to Spidey, it was the only commercial disappointment of 2014’s The Amazing Spider-Man 2 that led to the deal between the two studios. It has now been rumoured that similar talks are happening the scenes between Marvel and Fox, who have control of the X-Men and the Fantastic Four on the big screen.

As reported by Comicbookmovie.com, the latest episode of Collider Heroes featured producer Matt Key. "I’ve heard from a few of my sources, my little birds that Fox and Marvel have kind of talked," he revealed. "Like there’s interest from Fox, like, ‘Ooh, y’know, what they did with Sony and Spider-Man is actually pretty cool, like, maybe…’

"We’re years away from that ever possibly happening, but I think that’s what it would take. Fox joining hands with Marvel."

Obviously this is just a rumour, and a vague one at that, but the precedent set by the Sony deal gives it some credence.

In addition, Marvel and Fox have already struck a deal over the use of X-Men properties on TV. Marvel has retained the small screen rights to those characters, and the upcoming FX show Legion will be a partnership between the two studios. Another Fox/Marvel show, Hellfire, is also in development.