Perhaps inspired by the success of Marvel’s Disney created movies which all seem to be getting more and more successful, Sony seems to be determined to cut itself a comparable slice of the super hero movie pie.  Though Sony only has the rights to Spider-Man and his ancillary characters, they seem determined to fully cash in to the fullest.  In addition to adding a second trilogy to the parent franchise, Sony announced free-standing movies starring Venom and the Sinister Six.  What wasn’t clear is where these movies would fall time-wise.  Three villains will be introduced in ‘The Amazing Spider-Man 2’ which means at least two villains, if not more will debut in ‘The Amazing Spider-Man 3’ thus establishing the villains that will comprise the Sinister Six.  (The quantity is unknown, since The Lizard is still on the loose and could be used as part of the team.)

Sony has since clarified that the two villain-led spin-offs will hit theaters in between ‘Spider-Man 2’ and ‘3’.  Drew Goddard (‘Cabin In The Woods’) is writing and directing ‘Sinister Six’.  Ed Solomon (‘Now You See Me’) is co-scripting ‘Venom’ along with Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman, with Kurtzman set to direct.  Sony has already locked in release dates in 2016 and 2018 for these films.

Spider-Man producer Matthew Tolmach, while promoting ‘Spider-Man 2’, stated:

“Before we know what we do with Spider-Man 4, we’re going to do Sinister Six, Venom and Spider-Man 3. There is going to be a lot of crossover in those movies. So we’re just not at Spider-Man 4, because we still have a whole other Spider-Man movie and two other movies. So we don’t know yet what [Spider-Man 4] is going to be.”

Spider-Man himself, Andrew Garfield recently stated that he was only signed to one more movie.  Since ‘Sinister Six’ builds on the current trilogy, that should at least wrap up one cycle of movies allowing for the possibility of the fourth movie serving to kick off a new group of movies, but let’s hope this time they don’t bother depicting his origin again.

The Sinister Six lineup has varied over the years.  Originally the group consisted of Doctor Octopus, Electro, Sandman, Mysterio, Kraven the Hunter and The Vulture.  But at some point, nearly every major Spidey foe has served as a member.  The Vulture and Doctor Octopus are teased in the ‘Amazing Spider-Man 2’.  It’s entirely possible that a couple of characters will be swapped out for The Lizard, Green Goblin and The Rhino.  Venom and Carnage are also possibilities, setting them up for their movie.

In the meantime, we just need to wait for ‘Amazing Spider-Man 2’ before we get too ahead of ourselves.  Sam Raimi’s original installment were well-received, critically and financially.  The Marc Webb-directed ‘Amazing Spider-Man’ made a lot of money, but had a more mixed reaction from fans.  Will that continue here?  Early reviews are skewing fair to good.  But something tells me that regardless, Sony will press forward.  A third ‘Amazing’ is probably a given unless ‘Amazing 2’ bombs hard, but I doubt that will happen regardless of actual viewer reaction.  The two spin-offs may have to rely on how their scripts turn out.  And if the franchise stumbles, the fourth movie can simply reboot the entire franchise.

Spider-Man is Marvel’s flagship hero and one of the most popular in the entire world.  Something tells me that no matter what, Sony will keep spitting movies out for the foreseeable future.

Source: Screen Rant