The big news that hit last night was that Sony Pictures and Marvel Studios will be working together to bring a new version of Spider-Man to the big screen - one that will exist in the same universe as the Avengers and other Marvel heroes. As a result, the Amazing Spider-Man series has been scrapped, and a new film featuring the wall-crawler (played by a new actor) will be released in 2017. However, even though we know now that The Amazing Spider-Man 3 won’t hit theaters in 2018, there’s still been the question about what will happen with the spinoffs that were going to help form the now-defunct Spider-Man Cinematic Universe. Well, apparently they’re still happening.
According to Variety, Sony Pictures still plans to move forward with their plans for their Venom and Sinister Six films, as well as the untitled female-led Spider-Man spinoff. Although Kevin Feige will be co-producing the new standalone Spider-Man film and overseeing the character’s inclusion in the MCU, he reportedly won’t be "creatively involved" with the spinoffs. Earlier today, Sinister Six was reported as delayed, and with this new information, it sounds like Sony still plans to make it and the other spinoffs at a later date. Of course, given the nature of movie making, these are subject to change at any point, but for now, the spinoffs are in a state of suspended animation.
Aside from the issue about whether these Spidey villains can support their own film at this point, the main problem with still moving forward with Sinister Six is that these villains need to be set up ahead of time. Say what you will about the Amazing Spider-Man series, but at least they took measures to introduce various antagonists and sneak in some Easter Eggs (most of which felt forced) to foreshadow the coming of the supervillain team. Aside from his Civil War cameo, we won’t get Spider-Man on the big screen until 2017, and one movie is not enough to set up an entire group of antagonists. If Sinister Six is still on the slate in the upcoming years, the soonest we would probably see it is by the end of the decade or in the early 2020s.
As for Venom, it’s unclear whether Sony will want to introduce him in a new Spider-Man film before putting him in his own adventure, or if they’ll proceed by having the spinoff be his introduction. The only previous live-action Venom was in Spider-Man 3 played by Topher Grace, and that version of the villain received a lukewarm response from fans and critics. If the MCU Venom will still be introduced in his own film, let’s hope he’s way more badass than what we got before.
