A Rant on Sony’s Planned Spider-Man Spin-Offs
Sony’s handling of the Spider-Man intellectual property has been something of a roller-coaster. Sam Raimi’s first two films were both critical and commercial successes. However, everything changed when Spider-Man 3 went into production. Sam Raimi was told to drop The Vulture from the film’s script and replace him with Venom, a character Raimi was not fond of. This was at the request of Avi Arad who felt Venom was a character fans would want to see. What resulted in a messy third film that was a massive box office success but received mixed to negative reactions from critics and fans alike. A common complaint was how the film handled the Symbiote Saga and the lack of screentime for Venom, only to have him killed in the film’s climax. Shortly after Spider-Man 3’s release, Sony announced plans for a spin-off revolved around Venom. That film had a script written by Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick of Deadpool fame and was set to be directed by Gary Ross, who was also working on a script rewrite of Spider-Man 4.
Unfortunately, that film never got off the ground. Sony was still committed on getting a Sony film made. Following Sam Raimi’s fallout with the studio and the cancellation of Spider-Man 4, the series got a reboot with Andrew Garfield in the title role. The Amazing Spider-Man was released in 2012 to positive reviews and box office success. Before the first film even opened, a sequel was on track for a 2014 release. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 met its 2014 release but reviews were mixed with many complaining about the film’s multiple plots and its attempts to create a cinematic universe. The film became the lowest grossing Spider-Man film to date and plans for Sony’s Amazing Spider-Man Cinematic Universe went into creative limbo. In addition to two sequels and a Sinister Six spin-off, a Venom spin-off was being discussed. That film would have been set in the continuity of the Marc Webb/Andrew Garfield films and had Venom portrayed as an anti-hero with Carnage as the antagonist.
As you know, the entire cinematic universe that would have launched off of The Amazing Spider-Man 2 was cancelled in favor for another reboot that would be set within the Marvel Cinematic Universe following a deal made with Marvel Studios. Tom Holland was cast as the new Spider-Man and appeared in Captain America: Civil War where fans and critics viewed him as one of the film’s highlights. As the release of Spider-Man: Homecoming draws closer, one could only imagine the possibilities of Spider-Man characters and villains Marvel can use in the MCU. Characters like Venom, Carnage, Black Cat, and Silver Sable. That dream was ruined just just a few weeks ago when Sony announced that they were moving ahead with Venom, a film that would not be related to Homecoming and the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Like many, the announcement made me a little confused.
Am I completely against the idea of a Venom spin-off? Not entirely. While the existence of this film make the character’s chances of appearing in the MCU slim to none, there is the potential that this movie could be decent. It all comes down to the writing and directing and whether or not the film does the source material justice. The fact that the film is aiming for an R-rating shows that Sony is looking to embrace the dark and violent nature of the character. But no matter how you try to spin it, you cannot deny that this was an idiotic move on Sony’s part.
The announcement further shows Sony’s complete incompetence in handling a franchise. They called up Marvel to help them with the future of their most profitable franchise. I don’t work in the film industry so I don’t know everything that goes on in the behind-the-scenes process. Wouldn’t Marvel being brought in give them access the large library of characters associated with the Web Slinger? Not to mention that Venom would simply not work without Spider-Man. That character is the result of the symbiote separating from Peter’s suit and finding a new host in Eddie Brock. Part of me wishes that Kevin Feige would just step in and tell Sony to cut the crap. I do have a theory why this hasn’t happened.
Perhaps Marvel simply wasn’t interested in using Venom, Carnage, or any of the Symbiotes. Think about it. Feige and director Jon Watts have stated that they are drawing from the 1960s Spider-Man comics where Peter Parker is in high school for the majority of them. Venom did not appear until 1988 and at the point in the comics, Peter was already an adult male married to Mary Jane. You could argue that Venom was a nice fit for the MCU seeing how the cosmic side is being explored in Guardians of the Galaxy and Infinity War. I have a feeling that Kevin Feige was aware of Sony’s Venom spin-off plans and respected them. Feige is known for mapping out the storylines of the MCU years in advance and maybe he did not know where to fit Venom and the Symbiotes into his plans.
The film side of the MCU tends to be rather light-hearted unlike the dark and mature Netflix series which are still set in the same universe. As part of the deal, Sony only allows the character to appear in feature films and not television series. So, yeah. No Netflix Venom series in the foreseeable future. Say what you want about the character’s treatment in Spider-Man 3 but at least that film tried to be dark and show conflicted of a person Eddie Brock was even if wasn’t done entirely well. As upsetting as this may come to some fans, Marvel could have purposely let this happen. When one makes a deal, each person benefits from it somehow. Feige and the team at Marvel help develop films involving Spider-Man and certain members of his Rogues gallery while Sony gets to make the Spider-Man films they want. It’s stupid but movie studios are known for making stupid decisions.
Over the past week or so, we’ve been hearing reports that Venom will carry an R rating and be a blend of the horror, action, and sci-fi genres. Reports have surfaced that shooting will begin the fall, a script has already been written, and some directors are being considered. Whether we like it or not, the film is moving forward and will release on October 5, 2018. The film nabbed the release date after Aquaman gave up that date in favor of a Christmas release two months later. An R-rated Venom movie is obviously Sony’s attempt at getting the same level of success that Fox had with Deadpool and Logan, both of which carried an R rating. But the R-rated comic book movie bandwagon is not the only thing Sony is hopping on. Another announcement managed to broke out last week that got my blood boiling.
There has been a trend of female led comic book movies being developed. Warner Bros. will release Wonder Woman this summer and is in active development of Gotham City Sirens. Meanwhile, Marvel Studios is getting ready to shoot Captain Marvel next year. Just last week, Sony announced plans for a team-up spin-off film starring Black Cat and Silver Sable. What the hell? Was anyone really asking for this?
Black Cat is a character that has been trying to break onto the big screen for some time now. Sam Raimi had planned to use her in Spider-Man 4 and Anne Hathaway was in talks for the role. The film was cancelled as you all know and Hathaway was eventually cast as Catwoman in The Dark Knight Rises. As of now, the closest thing we have to Black Cat being in a movie was an out-of-costume appearance by Felicia Hardy in The Amazing Spider-Man 2 where she was played by Felicity Jones. When Sony was developing their Amazing Spider-Man Cinematic Universe, Lisa Nolan was tapped to write a female-centered spin-off. It was not made clear which character Nolan’s script would feature but with Black Cat being teased, this was most likely what Sony had in mind. I can’t give much of my opinion on Silver Sable because honestly, I don’t know much about her as a character.
With Venom and the Black Cat/Silver Sable movies in development, it was made clear that these spin-offs would exist in their own shared universe. You heard that right, ladies and gentlemen! A Spider-Man cinematic universe of antiheroes with no Spider-Man absolutely. Last time, a spin-off was made involving a character without featuring the characters whose comics they spun off from, we got these.
Okay, I’m getting ahead of myself. Who knows if these movies will suffer the same fate as Catwoman or Elektra? Both of those films were cash grabs that backfired immensely. They are also planning to shoot the female-led spin-off around the same time Venom shoots. Why is this happening? Is Sony really that stupid? Tom Holland and Jon Watts were asked about their opinions toward the spin-offs. While they said something along the lines, “We’re not involved so we don’t know”, what they really meant to say is, “You gotta be kidding me, Sony”. Just imagine had they badmouthed these decisions. They would have been fired after and the franchise would go into yet another creative jeopardy.
I could just wrap up this editorial and say the studio is doing this solely for the money. While that is true, there is another reason why. The success of the Marvel Cinematic Universe has led Hollywood studios to create their own shared film universes with whatever IPs they own. Fox’s X-Men franchise continues to draw in audiences, Warner Bros. have the polarizing DC Extended Universe, and Universal is developing a universe of monster films set to begin with The Mummy this summer. There is also Legendary’s MonsterVerse, Lucasfilm’s revitalized Star Wars films, Paramount’s Transformers Universe, and WB’s Harry Potter franchise which is expanding through a series of prequels. Hell, even Lionsgate is planning a plethora of Power Rangers sequels as you read this. Hollywood has found a goldmine known as the Cinematic Universe model and every studio in the business is looking to show what they got. Wouldn’t Sony want to do the same? By jumping on the most popular Hollywood trend, they could be looking for a way to save their struggling studio.
What Sony Pictures doesn’t seem to notice is how big of a mess they have made by announcing these spin-offs. In addition to Spider-Man in the MCU, there will also the spin-off universe and the animated Miles Morales movie which will most likely spawn sequels if it’s successful. Can Sony really juggle three Spider-Man franchises simultaneously? This is sure to confuse to ever-loving hell of the general audience.
Who knows how these movies turn out? Sony Pictures is a studio notorious for meddling with the creative process and post-production for their tentpole films. Even if the writers and directors of these movies are trying to make a legitimately good movie, the studio can find a way to sabotage the production if something does not go their way. The producers may think fans will respond well to these films because they have Spider-Man characters that have legions of fans worldwide. The truth is the fans want something that is good. Fans like myself and you go to these comic book movies to not only see our favorite characters on the big screen but to have an engaging unfold in front of us. Some of the most acclaimed films in the genre were not only praised for their action and performances, but for their stories. Stories is what keeps us engaged in these characters and eager to pick up the next issue or see the next installment. As The Joker in The Dark Knight put it…
It would be a huge surprise if these spin-offs turn out to be amazing films but it’s too early to tell. The films are still in the writing process and casting announcements could be coming in the next few months. In conclusion, Sony Pictures is a mess and is still clinging onto those huge franchise hopes they had when they released The Amazing Spider-Man. The best we can do is wait to see how Spider-Man: Homecoming turns out and approach developments on this spin-off universe with baited breath. Spider-Man looked like he had a bright future in the movies ahead of him. But a certain production company is making that harder to achieve.
What are your thoughts on Sony’s plans for a Spider-Man cinematic universe without Spider-Man? Feel free to leave your thoughts below. Movie Monster out! Peace!