As Sony attempts to grow its Spider-Man spin-off universe without the famed wall-crawler, one of its very first announced projects has come to a halt. Variety has revealed production on Silver & Black has been pulled, but rather than the project being shelved permanently it will instead undergo a change with Sony splitting it into separate projects with each focusing on its respective anti-hero.
Silver & Black was originally going to focus on a team-up between the Spider-Man villains Silver Sable, a hired mercenary and head of an organization who hunts war criminals, and Black Cat, a highly skilled burglar. Each will get their own spin-off now with Sony said to develop a film for Black Cat first.
“We believe Black Cat is enough of her own character with a great backstory and a canon of material to draw from to justify her own film,” said Columbia Pictures’ president Sanford Panitch, the executive who is in charge of overseeing the Marvel characters under Sony’s control.
However, the change in plans means Silver & Black‘s writer and director Gina Prince-Bythewood may depart both films, though she will remain listed as a producer. If Prince-Bythewood does leave, Sony has said they will replace her with another female director and would still be eager to work with her on other projects.
Venom is the first of Sony’s planned spin-offs and will be released this fall with Tom Hardy starring in the lead role. Sony has also begun early development for Morbius with Jared Leto starring as the vampire and Daniel Espinosa (Safe House) directing. They also recently hired Richard Wenk (The Equalizer 2) to write a screenplay that focuses on the Spider-Man villain Kraven the Hunter while other projects they wish to make revolve around Silk, Nightwatch and Jackpot.
