‘Amazing Spider-Man 3’ Pushed Back; ‘Sinister Six’ gets Release date
Sony announced on July 23 that it would be pushing back the release of Amazing Spider-Man 3 by 2 years, to 2018. It was also announced that the previously in limbo Sinister Six will now hit theaters on November 11, 2016.
Spider-Man Franchise in Danger?
In 2012, Sony rebooted the Spider-Man franchise. But, the series could be at the end of its short life again. Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzmann, both of whom have been the driving force behind the rebooted series, have expressed doubts about the franchise’s future and departed the franchise before the release of Amazing Spider-Man 3. Needless to say Amazing Spider-Man 2 was somewhat disappointing with its marketing plan and plot twist. Also, the film only brought a box office return of $706 million worldwide. That’s $50 million less than the first film. Amazing Spider-Man 2 was the lowest grossing Spider-Man film in America, barely crossing $200 million. Marc Webb may not return; he has expressed desires to do something else between Spider-Man films.
Amazing Spider-Man 3 was originally set for June 10, 2016, but now has been pushed back until 2018. May 4th, 2018 was once devoted to Amazing Spider-Man 4 so that could be the third installments new release date. But, with 2 Marvel films scheduled for 2018 and WB reportedly planning a Flash/Green Lantern team up and a Man of Steel sequel that year, Amazing Spider-Man 3 could have some stiff competition. The additional two years now gives Sony plenty of time to regroup and clean up the mess they made with Amazing Spider-Man 2.
‘Sinister Six’
With Sinister Six finally getting a release date it shows Sony’s intent on expanding Spider-Man’s universe. Drew Goddard will write and direct Sinister Six. Goddard made his directorial debut on Joss Whedon’s The Cabin in the Woods and wrote much of Lost and Alias. Sony President, Doug Belgrad said in a statement from the studio:
“With Sinister Six in the hands of writer-director Drew Goddard, we feel extremely confident placing the film on a prime date in 2016.”
Sinister Six will focus on villains in the Spider-Man universe. There have been 11 incarnations of the Sinister Six. The first incarnation appeared in 1964 and included: Doctor Octopus, Electro, Kraven, Sandman, Mysterio, and Vulture. Electro was introduced in Amazing Spider-Man 2 and died in a fashion that can be easily undone. However, the other 5 have not been introduced in the series yet. This means we could see the return of Lizard (Rhys Ifan), Green Goblin (Dane Dehann), and Rhino (Paul Giamatti). But, its more likely that we will see new actors to increase the gallery of villains to choose from in Amazing Spider-Man 3.
A team up picture about villains will be something very different from anything on the market, especially, if these villains actually do villain things. We can only hope that Goddard will not have them team up to do a do-gooder mission where they take down and even bigger threat. One question does have to be asked: Is Andrew Garfield going to be in Sinister Six? The actor has stated that he’s only contracted for three Spider-Man films. This could put the entire series in question.
Conclusion
These moves could have been made for production reasons. Making Sinister Six before Amazing Spider-Man 3 could prove beneficial; this move will free up Amazing Spider-Man 3 because it will not have to devote too much running time to build up the Spider-Man universe and introduce the villains back stories’. With new breathing room in-between sequels it will help build anticipation for Amazing Spider-Man 3. However, even with these new developments we still have no word on the rumored Venom spin-off or Amazing Spider-Man 4.