Marvel securing the rights to use Spider-Man in the Marvel Cinematic Universe was a minor triumph for the company, and before it happened, Captain America: Civil War would’ve been a little different.
As revealed by Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, the screenwriters for Captain America: Civil War, during a recent appearance on the Fatman on Batman podcast, there were plans underway for the film before Spider-Man showed up. Before the rights to the hero were secured, his place in the narrative was taken by another hero instead (thanks to Screen Rant for the transcription):
McFeely: [Tony Stark] would recruit somebody else. He probably recruits Ant-Man, I think would be that idea. Well, we had a section where you could recruit somebody, right?
Markus, “[Tony] actually went to San Francisco. It would not have been as cool.
McFeely “I believe [Scott] was watching his daughter play soccer. It wasn’t very good.
In the movie as it was finally written, Ant-Man sides with Captain America, while Tony Stark recruits Spider-Man to fight on his side against the illegal heroes. And, the writers are correct: the original idea was not nearly as good.
Thank you, Spider-Man, for saving this script. What a hero.
[Fatman on Batman, via Screen Rant]
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DISCUSSION
They would have had to write around there being no love lost between the Stark family and Hank Pym. But that’s some fallout that probably could have been handled in Ant-Man and The Wasp, with Hank pissed that his tech was used to help Tony.
As for Civil War, I also think it was a missed opportunity to not have Hope help with the Raft break-out. She would have been perfect for that infiltration job.