What is Going on With Sony's Spider-Man Franchise?

The fact that you even have to stop and ask yourself if Sony might actually be considering an Aunt May movie (UPDATE: they most certainly are not), not just an Aunt May movie, but a Spider-Man prequel focusing on May Parker as a spy, is a sure sign that something is broken at Sony. Yet, here we are. Now, it's possible that the thing that's broken is a superhero movie schedule that looks daunting to even the most hardened fan, let alone a movie exec at a competing studio. 

And that's just it, isn't it? Sony has demonstrated a, shall we say, complicated relationship with their Spider-Man rights in recent months. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 was a far less inspiring movie than the studio expected, and its modest (by Spider-Man standards) box-office take and critical savaging have left the studio shuffling their feet (not to mention release dates), and it seems like every few weeks there's some rumbling of a new Spider-Man related project, each more ridiculous than the last.

So, let's have a quick look at the Spider-Man movies that have been announced or discussed in the last few months, and see if anything, anything at all, might make a lick of sense.

Don't worry...this will be brief, since there are only two movies officially dated right now.

November 11th, 2016 - The Sinister Six

What is it? It's the closest thing to a sure thing on Sony's Spidey schedule. Teased throughout The Amazing Spider-Man 2, right down to a bizarrely marketed Marvel style out-of-credits sequence, this may or may not serve as a soft reboot of the franchise, with Spider-Man forced to team up with his enemies. Or it's a supervillain heist movie. Anything is possible. 

[related article: The Villains of The Amazing Spider-Man 3 and The Sinister Six]

Who's involved? Cabin in the Woods' Drew Goddard is writing and directing. This is a good thing.

What's the confusion? Well, at one point May of 2016 was the planned release date for The Amazing Spider-Man 3. That's gone, but The Sinister Sixremains for now.

May 27th, 2018 - The Amazing Spider-Man 3

What is it? That depends. Is it a sequel to The Amazing Spider-Man 2? Is it a sequel to the "soft reboot" of The Sinister Six? Is it even going to happen?

Who's involved? In theory? Marc Webb and Andrew Garfield. Roberto Orci is gone.

What's the confusion? See all of the above. At one point The Amazing Spider-Man 4was scheduled for May 4th of 2018. This is clearly not that movie, and it's worth noting that there's been no mention of Amazing Spider-Man 4 in months as of this writing.

Venom

What is it? It's a movie about everyone's favorite symbiote. He may or may not be Eddie Brock. He may or may not be teamed or put up against everyone's favorite symbiote serial killer in a movie called Venom Carnage, a title that almost (almost) makes Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice look like it's playing coy.

Who's involved? Alex Kurtzman. Assuming this is still happening, of course.

Mystery Female-Fronted Superhero Movie

What is it?We've heard this could be a team-up movie involving characters like Spider-Woman, Silver Sable, Black Cat, and others, with a working title of Glass Ceiling. Or maybe that's the title of the Aunt Maymovie where she plays a spy and it's like Mad Men but with May Parker and...nah...some things are too crazy, even for the internet.

Who's involved? If this Aunt May thing is true (it isn't), we can onlyt postulate that it's a room full of cartoonish cigar smoking movie executives, wondering how they might actually beat their competition to the punch on something. Anything. In fact, send us some suggestions for female Spider-verse heroes that won't require them to do...whatever the hell that Aunt May thing is.

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