Sony Pictures Spins More “Amazing Spider-Man” Sequels and Spinoffs
Just when you thought there couldn’t be any more sequels to the “Amazing Spider-Man” universe.
The gist of the above press release is this:
Sony has hired five writers to pen two additional spinoffs along with the upcoming “The Amazing Spider-Man 3”. Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci, Jeff Pinkner, Ed Solomon, and Drew Goddard are going to collaborate on an expanded universe for the “Amazing Spider-Man” universe that began with the 2012 film of the same name. Namely, films based on the popular villainous character “Venom” and also “The Sinister Six” will be written and developed for the big screen. Along with producers Avi Arad and Matt Tolmach, and director for the first two “Amazing Spider-Man” films, Marc Webb, they will establish a continuous tone and storyline throughout the films as they are made and released.
It was already announced that Kurtzman, Orci, and Pinkner were writing the script for “The Amazing Spider-Man 3”, which has a set release date of June 10, 2016. Webb has not signed on to direct the movie, but Sony in the press release says they hope Webb will return. However (and this is not mentioned in the release), Webb has obligations with Fox Searchlight that have not been fulfilled. While this did not affect “The Amazing Spider-Man 2” as the linked article (which is over a year old) predicted, I can only guess how much longer Fox Searchlight will allow Webb to continue making new “Amazing Spider-Man” films for a rival studio.
Kurtzman, Orci, and Solomon will be collaborating on the “Venom” script, with Kurtzman also set to direct. “The Sinister Six”, on the other hand, is a project handled personally by Drew Goddard, who is already inserting himself into Marvel’s foray of characters as he is also the showrunner for the Netflix “Daredevil” series set to be released in 2015. Goddard will write “The Sinister Six” and while it’s not set in stone, Sony also wants Goddard to direct the film as well.
To opine, this definitely looks like an attempt to make Spider-Man, the sole Marvel franchise Sony still has the license for, every bit as big as the “Marvel Cinematic Universe” being utilized by Marvel. It’s extremely ambitious but I question the wisdom of making a pair of movies centered around villainous characters, especially the “Sinister Six” who don’t exactly inspire a lot of sympathy. Also, it’s only a matter of time before Andrew Garfield ages out of the role of Peter Parker, especially as Garfield’s getting close to 30 and the movie universe is only now setting Peter on the road to college! I guess Sony has decided time is of the essence indeed.
After all, there are many webs to be spun.
I’m never going to get tired of making these puns.