Sony Pictures announced last night that it will be expanding The Amazing Spider-Man franchise with spin-offs of Venom and The Sinister Six.
The news was announced on The Amazing Spider-Man 2 promotional website
ElectroArrives.com, where the studio announced hiring of screenwriters Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci, Jeff Pinkner, Ed Solomon and Drew Goddard, who will form a
"franchise brain trust" with director Marc Webb and producers Avi Arad and Matt Tolmach
"to expand the universe for the brand and to develop a continuous tone and thread throughout the films."
As part of the plan, Kurtzman, Orci and Pinkner
(Fringe) will write The Amazing Spider-Man 3, which will go into production next fall for release on June 10, 2016; Sony plans to have Webb to return as director. In addition, frequent collaborators Kurtzman and Orci
(Star Trek Into Darkness, Transformers) will write Venom, with Kurtzman as director.
Goddard
(Cloverfield, World War Z), is set to write, and possibly helm, the villain-focused Sinister Six. The role of Solomon
(Men in Black, Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventures) wasn't specified.
"CULVER CITY, Calif., December 12, 2013 – In a move to forge a new legacy in the story of Peter Parker on screen, Sony Pictures Entertainment, in association with Marvel Entertainment, is developing several new projects in the Spider-Man franchise, with Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci, Jeff Pinkner, Ed Solomon, and Drew Goddard to collaborate on overseeing the developing story over several films that will be produced by Avi Arad and Matt Tolmach, it was announced today by Doug Belgrad, president of Columbia Pictures, and Hannah Minghella, president of Production for the studio.
The five writers, along with the two producers and Marc Webb, have formed a franchise brain trust to expand the universe for the brand and to develop a continuous tone and thread throughout the films. Under the deals, the studio announced that Kurtzman & Orci & Pinkner are writing the screenplay for The Amazing Spider-Man 3, which the studio hopes Webb will return to direct; the film will go into production next fall for release on June 10, 2016. In addition, the team will build on the cinematic foundation laid by Webb, Arad, and Tolmach in the first two movies. They will expand the franchise as Kurtzman & Orci & Solomon will write the screenplay for Venom, which Kurtzman will direct; also, Goddard will write, with an eye to direct, The Sinister Six, focusing on the villains in the franchise. Hannah Minghella and Rachel O’Connor will oversee the development and production of these films for the studio.
In tapping these five writers, the studio and the producers are guiding the future of the franchise with the writer/producers who have each played significant and key roles in developing such highly successful franchises, films, and series as Star Trek, Transformers, “Alias,” “Fringe,” Men in Black, Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure, World War Z, “Lost,” Cloverfield, The Cabin in the Woods, and Marvel’s upcoming “Daredevil” series.
Commenting on the announcement, Belgrad said, “The Spider-Man film franchise is one of our studio’s greatest assets. We are thrilled with the creative team we have assembled to delve more deeply into the world that Marc, Avi and Matt have begun to explore in The Amazing Spider-Man and The Amazing Spider-Man 2. We believe that Marc, Alex, and Drew have uniquely exciting visions for how to expand the Spider-Man universe in each of these upcoming films."
The Amazing Spider-Man 2, which opens May 2, 2014, stars Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Jamie Foxx, Dane DeHaan, Paul Giamatti, Sally Field and Chris Cooper.
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