One of the Sony PicturesSpider-Manprojectsthat was shelvedin the wake ofThe Amazing Spider-Man 2may be coming back from the dead. After Sony successfully launchedAndrew Garfieldas the new live-action Peter Parker, development began on bothThe Amazing Spider-Man 2and a number of sequels and spinoffs simultaneously.Alex Kurtzman, who was helping oversee theAmazing Spider-Manfilms, was set to direct aVenommovie, there was talk of a female-centric spinoff, and perhaps the most intriguing of the bunch was a villain-centricSinister Sixmovieto be written and directed byDrew Goddard, who had just madeThe Cabin in the Woods.
Sony was so bullish onSinister Sixthat they pushed back the release date ofThe Amazing Spider-Man 3and decided thatSinister Sixwould be first up afterSpider-Man 2. Alas,The Amazing Spider-Man 2was pretty savaged by critics and became the lowest-grossingSpider-Manmovie yet, and behind-the-scenes, producerAmy Pascalwas finally getting close to closing a deal that had been rumored for years: teaming up with Marvel Studios’Kevin Feige. Indeed, when it was announced that theSpider-Manfranchise would be rebooted once more, this time with Marvel Studios taking the creative lead, all of theseAmazing Spider-Manspinoff plans ground to a halt.
But now Pascal saysSinister Sixcould still happen. During an interview withVanity Fairtied to the critically acclaimed animated filmSpider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse—which is all Sony Pictures and has no involvement from Marvel Studios—Pascal, said she’s ready to make Drew Goddard’sSinister Sixwhenever he is:
“I’m just waiting for Drew to be ready to direct it. I would do anything with Drew Goddard. I’m just waiting for him to tell me he wants to.”
The sad irony of Goddard’s involvement withSinister Sixis that afterThe Cabin in the Woods, he was tasked with creating and directing Marvel’s Netflix seriesDaredevil, only to leave that show before filming began to makeSinister Six—which of course never happened. So it would certainly be great to see Goddard’s vision finally come to fruition.
The filmmaker is coming off the excellent but underseenBad Times at the El Royaleand is attached to write and direct an adaptation of the comicX-Forcefor 20th Century Fox, but no movement has been made on the project just yet as it could very easily be cancelled or retooled once the Disney/Fox deal is official in January. So it’s possible that if Disney decidesX-Forcedoesn’t fit with its Marvel plans, Goddard could jet back over to Sony and finally makeSinister Six.
Indeed, Sony’s feeling bullish about its non-Spider-Man Spider-Man projects at the moment, coming off the massive box office success ofRuben Fleischer’sVenomand withSpider-Man: Into the Spider-Versepoised to be a huge hit. At long last, Sony’s hitting a stride with its Marvel Comics adaptations. Here’s hoping that includesSinister Six.
