We all know Spider-Man, either from the comics, the TV shows, our parents, or the semi-recent movies that have come out. Now what has gotten the webbed hero back into the spotlight? His recent cameo in the new Marvel film Captain America: Civil War. (Which by the way was a pretty entertaining movie.)

But what people might not be aware of is that Marvel doesn’t own the rights to Spider-Man anymore. That is the main reason they haven’t made a Spider-Man franchise yet, even though it is one of Marvel’s biggest brands. Believe it or not, there was a time when the world wasn’t that big of a fan of superhero movies. Marvel was having a rough time in the ‘90s, having to file for bankruptcy. Sony was able to buy the rights to Spidey in 1999 for a $7 million. And because of that, Marvel couldn’t make a Spider-Man movie or have anything to do with the franchise. Fortunately, that has changed. Marvel Studios, with its growing popularity thanks to its neverending supply of new movies, has gotten Sony jealous. Now, the Spider-Man movies that Sony Pictures produced didn’t fail horribly, but they were no Avengers.

How did Marvel get to use Spider-Man in the new movie? Because Sony wanted to make a Spider-Man movie that would be just as popular as The Avengers, and to do that, they needed Marvel. It’s not like Sony sold back the rights to Marvel–oh no, they were smarter than that. What Sony did was genius. Now Marvel Studios is helping Sony make a new Spider-Man movie set to drop on July 28, 2017. The deal that the companies made will allow Marvel Studios to use Spider-Man in their movies, such as Captain America: Civil War. Marvel gets to keep any money they make on their films. Sony Pictures will produce Spider-Man movies with Marvel’s help and will get to keep the profits from their movies for themselves. It’s a win-win situation for both companies.

This will set the scene for a new movie next year, Spider-Man: Homecoming. It will be co-produced by Kevin Feige and his expert team at Marvel Studios, who have produced such best sellers as Guardians of the Galaxy and The Avengers. Also on the new team is Amy Pascal, who oversaw the franchise launch for the studio 13 years ago.

Even though they will collaborate on a new creative direction for the web slinger, Sony Pictures will have the final say and will continue to finance, distribute, and own the films. Now Spider-Man can take his rightful place back in the Marvel universe. Spider-Man has more than 50 years of history in Marvel’s world, and with this deal, fans will be able to experience him taking his rightful place among other superheroes in the Marvel universe.

All we can do now is just wait for our friendly neighborhood Spider-Man to return to us on the big screen in July of 2017.