Just as Warner Bros. is celebrating its successful launch of what will hopefully be a fruitful DC Comics Movie Universe with the release of Man of Steel, Sony and Marvel have swooped in to steal some of that DC thunder.  Sony Pictures has announced that The Amazing Spider-Man 3 and The Amazing Spider-Man 4 will be released in theaters on June 10, 2016 and May 4, 2018, respectively.  The studio rebooted the Spidey franchise last year with director Marc Webb’s The Amazing Spider-Man to the tune of over $750 million in worldwide box office, and Webb is currently hard at work filming the follow-up.  However, it appears as though Sony is wasting no time in continuing the franchise even further.  Hit the jump for more.

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Image via Sony

Given that we haven’t even seen a trailer for The Amazing Spider-Man 2 yet, details for Spider-Man 3 and 4 are unsurprisingly non-existent.  The films don’t have confirmed writers or directors, but given that Andrew Garfield and co. likely signed multi-picture contracts, the main cast is presumably locked in to appear in Spider-Man 3 and 4.  Sony is basically confirming that it will never, ever, ever give up the rights to Spider-Man, so those holding their breath for Spidey to join The Avengers can probably let it go.

In lieu of Marvel’s successful Cinematic Universe over at Disney, we got a hint of a similar kind of connectivity at the end of Webb’s first film as we saw Rhys Ifans’ The Lizard locked away and being visited by a mysterious figure.  While The Amazing Spider-Man teased “the untold story” of Peter Parker, the character’s origin was subsequently retooled into more of a mystery as the studio opted to play it out over a series of films instead of wrapping up the new origin within the first pic.  We’ll likely get more of this with Spider-Man 2, but just how much of a gameplan Sony has in mind for The Amazing Spider-Man 3 and 4 is unknown at this point.  Mary-Jane Watson is poised to be introduced in Spidey 2, played by Shailene Woodley, so one presumes that character will have a much larger role to play in these recently announced films.

Read the full press release below and sound off in the comments with what you’d like to see in the future Spider-Man films.

CULVER CITY, Calif., June 17, 2013 – With Sony Pictures Entertainment now in production in New York on The Amazing Spider-Man™ 2, slated for release on May 2, 2014, the studio is planting its flag on two future release dates for one of the most successful franchises in studio history, it was announced today by Jeff Blake, Chairman, Worldwide Marketing and Distribution for Sony Pictures. The next two films in the story of Peter Parker will be released on June 10, 2016, and on May 4, 2018, respectively.

Commenting on the announcement, Blake said, “Spider-Man is our most important, most successful, and most beloved franchise, so we’re thrilled that we are in a position to lock in these prime release dates over the next five years.”

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 is directed by Marc Webb from a screenplay by Alex Kurtzman & Roberto Orci & Jeff Pinkner, with a previous draft by James Vanderbilt, and based on the Marvel Comic Book by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko. Avi Arad and Matt Tolmach are the producers. The executive producers are E. Bennett Walsh, Stan Lee, Alex Kurtzman, and Roberto Orci.

The Amazing Spider-Man took in over $750 million at the worldwide box office last year.