Superhero schedule shuffle

Throwing the Spider-cat among the… er… Marvel pigeons, Sony scheduling Spider-Man 4 for May 2011 has cause the comics company to shift the release of several other properties.

With the web-slinger now sitting pretty on May 6, Marvel has decided to avoid competition and shove The First Avenger: Captain America to July 22 2011.

And despite having a director (Kenneth Branagh) on board, Thor is going back to the same year, pushed back from 2010 to a new slot on June 17 2011. That’s going to be one busy year for superheroes.

The other domino falling in all this switching about is The Avengers, which has now been shoved from July 2011 into May 2012.

So why all the shifting – besides the obvious Spider-avoidance? "This new schedule strongly sequences Marvel's movie debut dates, big-screen character introductions and momentum," Marvel Studios chairman David Maisel tells The Hollywood Reporter. "It maximizes the visibility of our single-character-focused films, leading to the highly anticipated release of the multi-character The Avengers. "

What is also means is that Sony has finally committed to getting another Spider-Man movie out there. And in two years, to boot.

There you are… in easy-to-digest exec-speak. You may now plan your calendar accordingly. Though bear in mind that these are the US dates and things might change over here…

[Source: THR]

Which of the Marvel movies are you most excited by?