Yesterday's announcement of the upcoming Venom and Sinister Six movies is an interesting idea to say the least, as this will be the first time that a major comic book movie will focus on the villain, but will it draw in audiences? Sony certainly seems to think so, as they gave the go-ahead to not just one, but two movies focusing on the guys that audiences want to see lose.
"Venom" is a movie that has been in and out of development hell for fifteen plus years now and it is no surprise that Sony would finally make the big push to get it out and into the spotlight. Does this mean that we will see a Venom origin outside of the regular Spidey Cinematic Universe(SCU)? I find it hard to believe that any Venom movie will hit the big screen before 2016, the date ASM3 is supposed to release. More likely we will see Eddie Brock in some capacity in ASM3 and he will branch off into his own film. It could also be that Venom will be released along side ASM3 as a companion film, but for that to happen Sony would need to get things moving very quickly. Venom is a character that is already recognizable to a wider audience and getting them into the seats for his own movie shouldn't be too much of a worry for Sony. What the story would focus on would depend what happens BEFORE Venom gets his own movie. We know that hints are being dropped about "Venom" and Eddie Brock but until we get to see Amazing Spider-Man 2 we can only speculate. I assume that the set-up for Venom will occur in ASM3 and lead into his own film. Perhaps it will be the anti-hero Venom who was so popular in the late 90's. I would love to see a movie where Venom is still a bad guy but circumstance throws him into the role of hero and protector.
A tougher sell though is the planned "Sinister Six" film. Of the six we have only been introduced to the Lizard and Electro. Granted we are getting Rhino and some form of Goblin this Spring but we are still 2 short of our 6. Which leads us to that great shot in the current ASM2 trailer, the one in which we catch a quick glimpse of a flight harness and some rather nasty tentacles. "Sinister Six" could come out some time between ASM3 and ASM4, assuming that The Six are the antagonists of ASM4. Giving an entire film to the set-up of Spidey's greatest foes seems like a smart move. In doing this they could devote more on screen time to what the fans really want to see: Spidey throwing down big time with Lizard, Electro, Vulture, Doc Ock, Rhino, and The Green Goblin. Giving the big bads their own movie would give the audience a different take of the Superhero genre all together. Perhaps it will be a "Dirty Dozen" (half dozen?) styled film of Osborn building his army with the best of the worst his labs have to offer. As the film ends the Sinister Six is complete and ready to take down Spider-Man once and for all.
A Sinister Six movie is a bigger gamble than a Venom movie for sure, but it could be far more interesting. Think of it as the "Anti-Avengers", we always cheer for the good guys, wouldn't you love a chance to cheer for the bad guys? I certainly would!
Let me know what you think! What other Villains deserve their own movie?