8 Spider-Man Movies Sony Should Be Making Instead Of Venom

When Marvel and Sony came together to introduce Spider-Man to the Marvel Cinematic Universe (as seen in the latest Captain America: Civil War trailer), it was assumed that Sony’s previous plans to make multiple Spider-Man spinoff movies had been nixed. However, the studio has now made the shocking announcement that they will be pressing ahead with a Venom solo movie, and that it will be separate from both the now defunct The Amazing Spider-Man franchise and the MCU. The move hasn’t exactly been met with universal praise from fans – and for good reason. For one, we hoped that Sony and Marvel’s partnership meant that Spider-Man and his associated allies and enemies would be introduced into the Marvel fold, and so the news that Venom won't be is a disappointment. The biggest issue, though, is that the character is so tied into Peter Parker and Spider-Man that it doesn’t make sense for Venom to be a standalone movie. His whole look doesn’t work if he hasn’t met Spider-Man before! So, here are a few suggestions for some other Spider-Man spinoff movies that Sony should be making instead of Venom, if they really have to carry on with their non-MCU films. As always, if you have any other ideas, leave them in the comments section below. 8) Sinister Six As The Amazing Spider-Man 2 teased, the next movie in that universe would have been a spinoff focusing on a bunch of Spidey’s enemies. It would have been helmed by Drew Goddard and probably featured the likes of Green Goblin, Lizard, Doc Ock and Vulture. The Sinister Six movie does present many of the same issues as a Venom solo movie, mainly how can a film about Spider-Man villains work without the wall-crawler. However, many of the traditional members of the Six don’t have origins tied to Spider-Man to the extent that Venom does. They are mostly criminals who just happen to come into conflict with Spidey rather than being hell bent on revenge against the hero, like the symbiote. We wouldn’t hold out much hope for this one happening just yet, though, as another comic book movie about a team of supervillains also with the initials SS has beaten it to the punch. 7) Spider-Woman The Sony and Marvel partnership also gave fans the hope that we would finally be about to see Spider-Woman on the big screen. Though she shares the Spider prefix with Peter Parker, Jessica Drew AKA Spider-Woman is more associated with the Avengers in the comics. As such, it has always been unclear whether Sony or Marvel had the rights to the character. Even if they didn’t before, now that the two studios have a friendlier relationship, Sony could wrangle the rights to the character and make a movie that would get a lot of people excited. As said above, a Spider-Woman solo film would be easy to do as the character’s origin isn’t particularly related to Spidey. Of course, she would benefit from being part of the wider Marvel universe, as any of the comics characters would, but she could also definitely stand on her own two feet. 6) Silk Another female Spider-Man related character who deserves their own film is Silk. A pretty recent addition to Spider-Man lore in the comics, Cindy Moon was bitten by the same spider that bit Peter. However, she was then locked up in a bunker for years and experimented on – until she finally got out and became a hero in her own right. While Silk is tied to Spidey in the comics, it would be very easy to remove Peter from the equation and just have her mirror the familiar bitten-by-spider origin story. The element of her being incarcerated for years would also be a really interesting addition to explore, as would her search for her family when she gets out. That certainly sounds like enough dramatic mileage for a standalone movie to us. Before the Marvel deal, Sony were apparently looking to make some female-led Spider-verse movies. If they still are, Silk would be a great, often overlooked, character to tackle instead of Venom. 5) Black Cat While a Silk movie would be great, one of those spinoff films with female leads that Sony were actually planning revolved around Black Cat, Spidey’s love interest on the wrong side of the law in the comics. Despite this connection to Spider-Man, the spinoff idea is actually a pretty strong one as Black Cat could work fine on her own. Films like Deadpool show that audiences are hungry for witty anti-heroes, which doesn’t really describe Venom, who is generally a bit more ferocious than funny. Black Cat would be a far better fit for this type of film then - and would show how far superhero movies have come since the last time a cat-related heroine was given her own film in 2004’s risible Catwoman solo effort. They could even let Felicity Jones return to the role she cameoed as in The Amazing Spider-Man 2 if they wanted. Although, we’re not sure that she's the best fit for Black Cat. 4) Spider-Man 2099 However good Venom or any of these ideas for alternate films turn out, we'll always be frustrated by how they don’t fit in with the Marvel movies, when they so easily could. Instead of any of these present-day films, then, Sony should tackle Spider-Man 2099, a version of Spider-Man from – you’ve got it – decades into the future. This would naturally be separate from the other films, but could still be loosely presented as the future of the MCU, for the fans' sakes. In the comics, this Spider-Man is Miguel O’Hara (he’s Latino, which would be something new for big-screen supers). His costume would also look amazing on the screen, what with that red skull (not that one!) emblazoned across his chest. They'd be able to do a present day movie, too, as Miguel gets stranded in our time for a long while in the comics, which would present a fun reverse-Captain America storyline to explore. 3) Spider-Gwen Movie audiences are much more used to parallel universes nowadays. Recently, we’ve had the time-travelling X-Men: Days of Future Past and the two separate versions of Quicksilver that appeared in that film and Avengers: Age of Ultron, respectively. Because of this, we think people are ready for a Spider-Gwen movie, and are sure it would be a stronger idea than Venom. One of the highlights of The Amazing Spider-Man films was Emma Stone as Gwen Stacy. If they had continued, they would certainly have suffered from her loss, after she died at the end of the sequel. Wouldn’t it be great, then, if Sony brought the actress back but this time to play a superpowered version of the character? The premise of Spider-Gwen is simple: what if that pesky radioactive spider bit Gwen instead of Peter? It could easily stand apart from any other Marvel film, featuring alternate versions of familiar characters. In the comics, for instance, it is Peter who becomes the Lizard. 2) Agent Venom The Venom movie will invariably focus on Eddie Brock’s version of the character, the first and most famous incarnation of the villain. However, if Sony looked to a different take of the character for inspiration, a lot of the inherent problems with the film would be fixed. It would also give a proper go at a character who has so far appeared twice on film but who has been underused both times. In Spider-Man and The Amazing Spider-Man, Flash Thompson is presented as just the generic high school bully, but in the comics he grows into a friend of Peter’s and an all-round interesting character. After losing his legs in the Iraq War, Thompson volunteers to be bonded with the Venom symbiote by the military. Going by the name of Agent Venom, he is the first person to control the alien entity, although this is something he struggles with regularly. Flash’s Venom would be a much stronger leading man than Brock’s, as a disabled former soldier suffering from PTSD is a much meatier character than a disgraced photographer, wouldn't you say? 1) Miles Morales The Spider-Man character we most want to see get their own movie is Miles Morales, the Ultimate Spider-Man. Many people were disappointed by Sony and Marvel’s decision to go with the third incarnation of Peter Parker we’ve seen in ten years instead of giving Miles his turn in the limelight. If Sony developed their own Miles movie now, then, it would surely be a much more successful venture than a Venom standalone. In the comics, the 14-year old Miles becomes Spidey once Peter has been killed. This could easily remain the case in Sony’s film; it could even take place in The Amazing Spider-Man universe. Perhaps Andrew Garfield’s Spidey died in that final fight with the Rhino? For comic fans, particularly, this would be an exciting idea as it would basically mean we could have a big screen version of the Amazing/Ultimate Spider-Man continuities that ran alongside each other in the comics, which of course eventually culminated with Peter crossing over from his world to meet Miles in his. A future crossover between Tom Holland’s Peter and Miles? Yes, please!