Sony Pictures Entertainment
Last night’s announcement of Marvel and Sony’s deal to cross-over the Spider-Man and Avengers (MCU) franchises was only the first step in an ongoing flow of news we’re getting about the future of these properties. Among the questions being answered, the most important is not who or what age the next Spidey/Peter will be, at least not yet. But it is known that it won’t be Andrew Garfield and the replacement will be younger.
More noteworthy is the confirmation, via Variety, that spin-off plans that were in motion before this big shake up occurred are still moving forward. We’ll still see a Sinister Six feature at some point. Venom remains on the table for his own movie. Even the installment focused on female characters is still alive. None of them will be under the management of Marvel producer Kevin Feige, however, the way the main Spider-Man movies will be.
Of course, this revelation opens up more questions, like: what about the Aunt May spy movie? And is it possible for actors from the past two incarnations of the Spidey universe to remain or return? It’d be nice to import Paul Giamatti’s Rhino into Sinister Six, for example, as well as Felicity Jones as Black Cat for the female character thing. And the fans continue to hope for a resurrection of J.K. Simmons’s J. Jonah Jameson from the Tobey Maguire run.
Is it ridiculous to think any of that could be done? Look at how Bernard Lee, Robert Brown and Judi Dench all played M in the James Bond franchise overlapping the various 007 recasting reboots. And Desmond Llewelyn as Q through five different Bonds and Lois Maxwell as Miss Moneypenny through three. It’s just a shame there hasn’t already been any carryover with the two Spideys we’ve had already. Unless you count the most important constant of all, Stan Lee.
