Are Spider-Man's days in the Marvel Cinematic Universe already numbered?

Spider-Man’s debut in Captain America: Civil War was met with universal acclaim from critics and fans alike, so you’d think Sony would keep the character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe for as long as possible. Unfortunately, his days alongside Tony Stark may already be numbered.

While speaking at CinemaCon this week, Spider-Man: Homecoming producer Amy Pascal vaguely hinted the character may make a swift exist from the MCU after a second solo film.

Here is what Pascal said:

One of the things that I think is so amazing about this experience is that you don’t have studios deciding to work together to make a film very often. In fact, it may never happen again—after we do the sequel.

Pascal’s comments suggest Sony and Marvel may stop working together in the future, which could jeopardize Spider-Man’s involvement in the MCU. Which is unfortunate, because he adds a lot of humor and enthusiasm that’s been missing from the primary Avengers cast.

On the other hand, Pascal may just be saying it’s unlikely we’ll see a similar partnership between studios in the future. Despite being a producer for Homecoming, Pascal no longer works for Sony, so she may not know what the studio has planned. It’s very possible the partnership could continue for years to come.

It’s complicated

Complicating matters even more are Sony’s plans to build an expanded universe around Venom, which rumors said wouldn’t feature Spider-Man. Perhaps Sony wants to breakaway from Marvel after the Homecoming sequel, and introduce Spider-Man to an expanded universe separate from the MCU.

Marvel Studios has a number of big movies on the horizon, including Avengers: Infinity War, already know will feature Spider-Manwhich we . But what happens beyond that? I’m sure Marvel fans don’t even want to think about it.

Spider-Man fans will get to see the character swing into action when Spider-Man: Homecoming hits theaters on July 7.