CHAPTER 8:
SPIDEY COME HOME
Sony is a studio that hasn't been doing so well lately. They've had some hits, but they've had a fair share of flops. And the Spider-Man franchise is one of their more profitable franchises. Which is why some considered TASM 2 to be a box office disappointment. In fact, 2014 was not a good year for Sony. As most of you know, in December of 2014, there were the infamous Sony e-mail hacks, which resulted in a potential box office hit (The Interview) to be pulled from theaters, only to be put back in theaters in a limited release. Hell, the only two films they released this year that made over $100 million were Hotel Transylvania 2 and Spectre, which is another film that did well, but would have did better if there wasn't bad word-of-mouth. This is probably why they held on the character for so long.
However, even if they considered TASM 2 to be a hit it was still outdone by....
X-Men: Days of Future Past...
Captain America: The Winter Soldier...
GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY!
If you went to someone from ten years ago and told them a gun-toting racoon would make more money than Spider-Man, they would laugh at your face. Then they would ask "There's a movie with a gun-toting racoon? WHERE CAN I FIND IT?!?!?"
So to try and hold on to that Spidey money and hold on to the rights as much as possible, Sony announced thatthey were making movies out the wahzoo. An SMCU, if you will.
The most infamous of these announced project was Sinister Six. This was announced around the same time as the first trailer for TASM 2 came out. Plus, a shot in the trailer revealed Vulture wings and Doc Ock arms.
There was also the end credits which featured a possible reference to Mysterio and Kraven. Two villains who should REALLY BE IN A MOVIE BY NOW! (ARE YOU HEARING ME, MARVEL?) Plus, many people felt Rhino and Green Goblin were only in TASM 2 to be in Sinister Six. However, the line-up was never officially announced. Some felt that The Lizard would return. Others thought Black Cat would be in it, as Felcia Hardy was featured (and by featured, I mean wasted) in TASM 2. Some people thought Electro would be in it, but...
And don't say "Um, Actually, Jamie Foxx said Electricity never dies and that means Electro is alive!" No. Spidey killed Electro. And Sinister Six was canned, which means if he was going to be ressurected (nothing was confirmed), it didn't happen. Which means Electro is dead! Also, the movie was going to be a redemption story, which is dumb as some of the villains may not have had the chance to face Spidey.
Now, the studio had a lot of faith in this project as they movie The Amazing Spider-Man 3 two years back so Sinister Six could be released in 2016. They also got Drew Goddard. BTW, Drew Goddard was actually working on the Netflix show Daredevil, he directed to episodes, but left as showrunner to write and direct this. And if Drew Goddard left the best superhero show right now to direct Sinister Six, this must have been something special.
You mean all that forced setup in The Amazing Spider-Man 2 was for nothing? The thing that led to the movie being overcrowded crap was for nothing? I LOST TWO-AND-A-HALF HOURS FOR NOTHING?!?!?
But Sinister Six wasn't the only Spider-Man spin-off planned. There was also Venom. However, there were two Venom spin-offs planned at two different times. The first was planned after Spider-Man 3.
A couple of months after the released of Spider-Man 3, Avi Arad announced a Venom movie. However, there was just one tiny thing standing in the way...
Yeah, I don't know WHAT they were gonna do about that, it was never clear. Anyway, Mean Creak writer, Jason Estes wrote a draft for the film, but the studio rejected it. A year later, Zombieland writers, Paul Wernick and Rhett Reese wrote two drafts for the studio. However, those drafts were rewritten. But don't feel bad for Wernick and Reese, they're writing Deadpool now. Anyway, the person who rewrote the draft was Gary Ross, who was also set to direct the project. Ross had the idea of Venom being an antihero instead of a villain, which means it may not have been Eddie. However, Gary Ross left to direct Hunger Games, and the project was put in development hell when a Spidey reboot was announced.
However, there was still a chance of a Venom spin-off. Josh Trank was interested in directing, but he ended up directing THE CBM THAT MUST NOT BE NAMED! Arad said THIS Venom movie would take place in the TASM universe. Arad also hoped that all the big CBM universes (Marvel, DC, X-Men) would all live in peace one day. And if you look at a Marvel fan's comments in a DC or X-Men artice, this confirms that Arad's hopes will never become real.
In late 2013, it was announced that Venom was still in development. Alex Kurtzman & Robert Orci (who cowrote TASM 2), as well as Ed Solomon were set to write the film, which would still be an anti-hero film. Also, it was rumoured that the movie would have been called "Venom: Carnage", so pretty much a Symbiote vs. Symbiote movie.
But enough about the spin-offs, let's actually talk about The Amazing Spider-Man 3. Marc Webb and Andrew Garfield were both set to return. However, a fourth movie was planned, but Webb and Garfield were not returning for that. For this third one, Paul Giamatti was set to return as the Rhino. This means we probably wouldn't have been in Sinister Six, seeing as TASM 3 was coming out after THAT and Six was a redemption story. Oh wait, they're not connected. Never freaking mind. Black Cat and Mary Jane were rumoured to appear, but it was unknown if Shailene Woodley would return.
But, back to spin-offs. While people were yelling at DC and Marvel to make WW and Captain Marvel movies already, Sony tried to beat them to the punch with their own female superhero spin-off. However, this was never confirmed. Some people thought it would be Spider-Woman. Some people thought it would be Black Cat. Others thought Emma Stone would appear as Spider-Gwen. We didn't know. What we DID know was that the script woul've been written by Lia Joy, Christopher Nolan's sister-in-law.
Speaking of feamled spin-offs, let's talk about this. Last year, there was a rumour going around that an Aunt May spin-off was in the works. Now, this was just a rumour and it was quickly debunked. But, still, this idea is so idiotic it shouldn't have been rumoured. I love Sally Field in the part, but whoever spread this rumour around must be an idiot or a guy with a twisted sense of humour.
And while ALL of these were announced or rumoured, fans were saying the same thing: GIVE THE RIGHTS BACK TO MARVEL! Marvel even tried to use Spidey in Age of Ultron and they tried TWICE! Then they tried to put him in Civil War, but that wasn't going to happen. Or was it?
During the infamous Sony hacks, e-mails revealed many things. Like a possible animated Mario movie. A crossover between 21 Jump Street & Men In Black. And that Marvel & Sony were in discussion about Spider-Man rights. Marvel was asking Sony if they could use Spidey in Civil War. Sony was saying they were potentially rebooting the series once again, with Sam Raimi and an animated comedy.
In Febuary of 2015, it was announced. Kevin Fegie and Marvel Studio were making a Spider-Man film in the MCU and that he would appear in Avengers 3 AND Civil War. But Sony didn't give the rights back, like how FOX gave Marvel the DareDevil rights. They made a deal similar to Marvel's deal with Universal when they made The Incredible Hulk. Sony would distribute and finance the film, while Marvel would have creative control over the project. As for the spin-offs, Sony claimed they were still going on. But, that September, they were officially canned.
A lot of directors were on Marvel's shortlist, until Cop Car director, Jon Watts, got the gig. However, two of the possible directors ended up cowriting the project. There was also a shortlist of who would play Spidey, and while I prayed to the heavens that Asa Butterfield would get the role, Tom Holland got the gig. But I still think Holland will do a good job. It was like when I wanted Jaimie Alexander wasn't Wonder Woman like it was rumoured. I wasn't mad just disappointed.
Now at Sony, there's still one more non-MCU project in development. The animated comedy they were talking about. Not a lot of people were fans of the idea at first. But that all changed when it was announced who was behind the project.
LORD & MILLER, BITCHES!!!!!!!!!!!
That's right. The beyond-talented directors of Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs, The Jump Street Films, & The Lego Movie are behind the animated Spidey film. Wether or not they're actually directing it, it's unknown as they're directing Han Solo the same year, but they are writing it and that's good enough for me.
And that's all there is for The History Of The Spider-Man Films. And with two awesome-sounding Spidey movies on the way, there's no better way to celebrate than with THREE MORE '60S SPIDER-MAN MEMES!
POST CREDITS SCENE!
COMING SOON TO "THE HISTORY OF CBMS"