Sony has made a bold statement of intent regarding the future of the Spider-Man franchise, confirming release dates for both The Sinister Six and The Amazing Spider-Man 3.

With The Amazing Spider-Man 2 having performed indifferently at the box office, there had been some doubt cast on Sony’s plans for the series, but those have now been brushed aside with the announcement of these new dates.

The Sinister Six will be the next film in the series to hit cinemas, with the Drew Goddard-directed supervillain saga set to open in the US on 11 November 2016.

The knock-on effect of that scheduling is that The Amazing Spider-Man 3 will move back from its rumoured 2017 release date, and will now open on 4 May 2018.

We’re still waiting for confirmed details on just which villains will be featured in The Sinister Six, but with that film now next up on Sony’s Spidey agenda, we should have some more info on the way in the coming months…