In extremely surprising news, it appears that Sony is primed to beat competitors Marvel and Warner Bros. out of the gate by launching a female-led superhero film for release in 2017, as part of its plan to expand the comic-book universe established in its Amazing Spider-Man franchise.
No word yet on which female hero will be the subject of this upcoming tentpole, which will arrive after Drew Goddard’s Sinister Six film in 2016, but Lisa Joy Nolan (Westworld) has been hired to pen the script. Avi Arad and Matt Tolmach are producing.
There are several strong possibilities for which character the film will follow, including Black Cat/Felicia Hardy (played by Felicity Jones in The Amazing Spider-Man 2), Spider-Woman, Silver Sable, Firestarter and Stunner, but Sony is still mum on the details.
Drew Goddard will be writing and helming 2016’s Sinister Six, which Deadline reports will focus on “all the villains of Spider-Man converging after the evil Dr. Octopus summons them.” That film seems like the ideal time for Sony to introduce this female character. It’s widely assumed that the Green Goblin (Dane DeHaan) will have a role in Sinister Six after appearing in The Amazing Spider-Man 2, and it’s also expected that the Vulture, whose wings were seen in an OsCorp lab in the aforementioned sequel, will join the villainous squad’s ranks. Perhaps Felicia Hardy, who served as Harry Osborn’s assistant in TASM2, is also in line to become a member.
Of course, any number of female characters could be the focus of this 2017 film. It just makes a certain amount of sense for it to be Black Cat, seeing as her alter ego has already been introduced to audiences. Then again, Dr. Octopus is involved in the Sinister Six film, and he was responsible for creating Spider-Woman and Stunner, so either of those two characters could be introduced in Goddard’s movie.
One insider told Deadline that a female-led entry in the Amazing Spider-Man franchise has been steadily gaining favor with Sony:
“What other movies we could do was something everyone started talking about when shooting the last movie. With Salt, Wanted and Lucy, there is a huge appetite for this right now… [About The Amazin Spider-Man 2 itself] The one thing you can’t ignore is the fans. There was a rejection going on with having another Spider-Man come out so soon, and you have to listen to the fans in this world. We all took a good look in the mirror and said, we have to try to have to figure it out and revamp it.”
In other Sony news, Deadline reports that the Venom-centric pic that Alex Kurtzman and Ed Solomon are scripting, with intentions for Kurtzman to direct, is now titled Venom Carnage.
Both of those news scoops are tremendously exciting, to be sure. What female hero do you think deserve to get time in the spotlight first? My money is on Black Cat, but it would also be thrilling to see a Spider-Woman film (though marketing that would likely be very tricky for Sony). And Venom Carnage? If that comes together – and Venom is sidelined as he was in Spider-Man 3 – I’ll be first in line to buy a ticket.
