Marvel Studio's current model for their shared cinematic universe has proved so successful, that other studios are beginning to follow suit. Warner bros. are finally getting a shared DC Universe off the ground with Superman vs. Batman, and Fox are planning to mix their X-Men and Fantatsic Four universes together, going as far as hiring Kick-Ass creator Mark Millar to oversee everything. But Sony Pictures only hold the rights to one comic book character, Spider-Man, so they have come up with a very unique solution: focus on the villains, of which Spidey has MANY. The studio has announced the formation of a franchise brain trust, made up of Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci (writers on JJ Abrams' Star Trek), Alex Pinker (producer and writer on Lost, Alias, and Fringe), Ed Solomon (Writer on Men In Black and Now You See Me), and Drew Goddard (co-writer/director of Cabin in the Woods, and show runner of the upcoming Daredevil TV show), whose goal is to forge a cinematic universe for Spider-Man, and keep the tone and continuity over the different films.
Along with The Amazing Spider-Man 3, pencilled in for June 10th 2016, the first expansion to the franchise seems to be Venom, the sentient alien suit whose mishandling was one of Spider-Man 3's many, many problems. A Venom movie has been rumoured for quite some time now, with Chronicle director Josh Trank previously attached, but now the film seems to have gotten the green light with Kurtzman at the helm, with himself, Orci, Solomon writing the script. The Sinister Six, a coming together of Spidey's greatest villains (whose origins we will see in The Amazing-Spiderman 2), will also be the focus of their own movie, with Goddard writing, with a possibility he will direct. It's no surprise that Sony would want to capitalise on their property, but focusing on the villains is a very gutsy move (will many people show up to watch the bad guys, even if their is the promise of Spider-Man appearing?), and I am very interested to see how this turns out.
The full press release is below:
CULVER CITY, Calif., December 12, 2013 – In a move to forge a new legacy in the story of Peter Parker on screen, Sony Pictures Entertainment, in association with Marvel Entertainment, is developing several new projects in the Spider-Man franchise, with Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci, Jeff Pinkner, Ed Solomon, and Drew Goddard to collaborate on overseeing the developing story over several films that will be produced by Avi Arad and Matt Tolmach, it was announced today by Doug Belgrad,president of Columbia Pictures, and Hannah Minghella, president of Production for the studio.
The five writers, along with the two producers and Marc Webb, have formed a franchise brain trust to expand the universe for the brand and to develop a continuous tone and thread throughout the films. Under the deals, the studio announced that Kurtzman & Orci & Pinkner are writing the screenplay for The Amazing Spider-Man 3, which the studio hopes Webb will return to direct; the film will go into production next fall for release on June 10, 2016. In addition, the team will build on the cinematic foundation laid by Webb, Arad, and Tolmach in the first two movies. They will expand the franchise as Kurtzman & Orci & Solomon will write the screenplay for Venom, which Kurtzman will direct; also, Goddard will write, with an eye to direct, The Sinister Six, focusing on the villains in the franchise. Hannah Minghella and Rachel O’Connor will oversee the development and production of these films for the studio.
In tapping these five writers, the studio and the producers are guiding the future of the franchise with the writer/producers who have each played significant and key roles in developing such highly successful franchises, films, and series as Star Trek, Transformers, “Alias,” “Fringe,” Men in Black, Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure, World War Z, “Lost,” Cloverfield, The Cabin in the Woods, and Marvel’s upcoming “Daredevil” series.
Commenting on the announcement, Belgrad said, “The Spider-Man film franchise is one of our studio’s greatest assets. We are thrilled with the creative team we have assembled to delve more deeply into the world that Marc, Avi and Matt have begun to explore in The Amazing Spider-Man and The Amazing Spider-Man 2. We believe that Marc, Alex, and Drew have uniquely exciting visions for how to expand the Spider-Man universe in each of these upcoming films.” Arad and Tolmach added, “This collaboration was born out of the great experience we and Marc had working with Alex, Bob, and Jeff on The Amazing Spider-Man 2. With more than fifty years’ wealth of stories in the comic books to draw upon for inspiration, the Spider-Man universe is truly boundless; in addition, the Spider-Man comics have the greatest rogues gallery of any series, and to have the chance to explore that on film is truly thrilling. Until now, we have approached each film as a separate, self-contained entity, but with this move, we have the opportunity to grow the franchise by looking to the future as we develop a continuous arc for the story. That is what Alex, Bob, Jeff, Ed, and Drew will do in this unprecedented collaboration, and we’re excited about the directions they are taking the character and the world.”