It was apparent from The Amazing Spider-Man 2 that Sony Pictures had ambitious plans for the wall-crawler on the big screen. The studio wanted to rush straight to introducing the Sinister Six and, rather than giving each of those villains an origin story, they'd have simply been decked out in Oscorp tech (like Rhino).
Drew Goddard was tasked with developing the project and we've heard the idea was for Spider-Man to actually be recruited to the team.
Doctor Octopus was going to be responsible for enlisting Spidey under false pretences - before the group's true colours were revealed - and they'd have travelled to the Savage Land for a battle with the alien Gog while the movie's MacGuffin was set to be Pandora's Box.
Vulture, Sandman, Mysterio, and Black Cat would join Spider-Man and Doc Ock on the team, while Idris Elba, Francis McDormand, Bryan Cranston, Tom Hardy and Jackie Chan were all wanted for undisclosed roles, as were Woody Harrelson, Channing Tatum, Joel Edgerton, and Jason Clarke. Even Chris O'Dowd, Michael Peña, Seth Rogen, and Danny McBride's names were batted around.
During the "Sony Hack," we learned the plan was for Sinister Six to feature a giant-sized Sandman, but another bonkers idea has been revealed today.
In the newly released MCU: The Reign of Marvel Studios book, it's confirmed that, "By the end of 2014, [Drew Goddard] had a draft that took Spider-Man and his villains to the Savage Land, where Spider-Man would ride a T-Rex."
Yes, Spider-Man riding a T-Rex is something we very nearly saw on screen.
The whole thing sounds rotten but it's hard not to wonder what might have been. Goddard is a solid talent and actually walked away from Netflix's Daredevil to develop Sinister Six, so the movie is one he clearly had faith in.
Now, Sony Pictures is thought to be working on another iteration of the movie. Teased at the end of Morbius, it's looking like that will bring together the Spider-Verse's villains - Venom, Morbius, Kraven the Hunter, and The Vulture thus far - for a heroic spin on the group we're sure will be nothing less than awful.
The closest we've come to seeing the Sinister Six on screen was in Spider-Man: No Way Home when three wall-crawling Variants teamed up to battle Green Goblin, Doctor Octopus, Electro, Sandman, and Lizard.
How would you have felt about Spider-Man riding a dinosaur in this ill-fated blockbuster?