Earlier in the week it was reported via leaked emails from Sony that the studio received an approach from Marvel about adding Spider-Man to the cast of 2016’s Captain America: Civil War, as well as sounding out the possibility of bringing Sam Raimi back into the fold, an animated movie from Phil Lord and Chris Miller, and Captain America: The Winter Soldier directors Joe and Anthony Russo offering to take over as producers on the series going forward. Well, more and more details are now emerging, this time concerning The Sinister Six, Venom, and how Spidey would have fit into Marvel’s plans, had negotiations between the two parties been successful:
– Amazing Spider-Man producer Matt Tolmach would like to have Venom (or Carnage) as the main antagonist in The Sinister Six, as he doesn’t feel the symbiote can hold his own movie (so bye-bye Venom: Carnage, by the sound of it). And should Venom end up featuring in The Sinister Six, Spider-Man would wear his black suit in the film before tearing it off after being mocked by the Sinister Six over his new look, leading to the birth of the antagonist.
– Had Sony agreed to allow Spider-Man to feature in Civil War, it would have been as a cameo, with Marvel Studios replacing Andrew Garfield with a new actor. Sony’s Michael De Luca was keen for the deal to happen, hoping it would renew interest in Spider-Man movies and allow Sony to skip The Sinister Six. De Luca also suggested the possibility of rebooting the Spider-Man series once more, albeit skipping over the character’s origin and potentially using Venom, Carnage and Hobgoblin as the villains.
So, at this point, it looks like Sony has absolutely no idea how to proceed with the Spider-Man franchise, and all of the previously announced plans such as The Sinister Six movie seem to be completely up in the air. Not good news for fans of the wall-crawler, but you have to wonder if there’s ever going to be a better time for Disney and Marvel Studios to make a play for the rights…
UPDATE: Even more details are emerging about internal Sony discussions regarding Spider-Man, including:
– Suggestions that Andrew Garfield has effectively been fired as Spidey following his negative comments about The Amazing Spider-Man 2, and his absence at a corporate dinner attended by Sony CEO Kaz Hirai.
– Amy Pascal suggesting that if Spider-Man appeared in Civil War, Sony would want script approval, casting approval for Spider-Man and Aunt May and approval of the new costume, as well as wondering whether the third Captain America movie could set up a new Spider-Man series without the need for The Sinister Six, and if it would be possible for Sony to use Marvel Studios characters such as Captain America in their own future Spider-Man movies.
How should Sony proceed with Spider-Man? Let us know your thoughts…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UjZ2TF1kEjE&feature=player_embedded&list=PL18yMRIfoszH_jfuJoo8HCG1-lGjvfH2F
Originally published December 13, 2014. Updated April 13, 2018.
