Sony Pictures is trying to do something similar to the Marvel Universe with their Spider-Man movies, which isn't surprising, given that Marvel's films have had a ton of success, and that DC is doing the same thing as well.

Sinister Six and Venom Movies May Be Linked

Plus, Sony has to keep releasing Spider-Man movies or lose the rights to the character. It's a key cog in the studio's plans, and, on Wednesday, Thompson on Hollywood reported on the plan for the release dates of the upcoming Spider-Man movies.

For starters, The Amazing Spider-Man 3 has been pushed back, and pushed back a lot. The film was originally scheduled to come out June 10, 2016, but now it has been moved to an undisclosed date in 2018. It will still almost assuredly be a summer release, with the hope of it being a blockbuster. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 wasn't received perhaps quite as well as the studio would have liked. It only made $202 million domestically, which is not a ton for a modern big budget studio tentpole.

Amazing Spider-Man 2 Photos Show Gwen Stacy's Fate

When the decision was made to reboot the Spider-Man franchise so soon after the first trilogy ended, there was some grousing that it was too soon. Perhaps the hope is that, by pushing the movie until 2018, it will alleviate any Spider-Man fatigue there has been.

That's not to say there won't be a movie from the Spider-Man universe in 2016, however. The film Sinister Six, which will focus on some of Spider-Man's iconic villains, is going to be released November 11, 2016. This is considered the first of what they hope are several movies expanding the world of Spider-Man, so they will have to hope it succeeds. Meanwhile, a movie adaptation of the video game Uncharted, which is about a rougish treasure hunter, will take The Amazing Spider-Man 3's date in 2016.