Sony Pictures went about launching their Spider-Man cinematic universe in the worst possible way. After a decent beginning with The Amazing Spider-Man, they plunged into The Amazing Spider-Man 2, which was a mediocre movie weighed down with endless hooks for potential sequels.
So, we got a tease of Peter’s parents being involved in some shady government conspiracy, various plotlines going unresolved and the end credits showing us some pretty familiar villain equipment. That last one was intended to be for a standalone Sinister Six movie, which never saw the light of day after the Andrew Garfield Spider-Man pics failed to live up to Sony’s expectations.
But with the studio now developing a series of films based on Spidey villains like Venom and Morbius: The Living Vampire, could we see this project come back from the dead? Writer Drew Goddard certainly thinks so, saying the following in a recent interview:
“It was really fun [developing Sinister Six]. I wouldn’t have done it had I not thought there was a real opportunity to do something different and exciting and just flat-out bananas. It was very much me and — a much more commercial version of — the Cabin [in the Woods] mentality. The punk rock mentality that led to Cabin is very much at the core of Sinister Six. That’s a fun one. Who knows, it could see the light of day. It’s funny, I’ve been through a lot of volatility at a lot of different studios. Between MGM and Sony and Fox. At a certain point, you start to realize, ‘Oh, this is just a volatile business’ and you try to stay afloat as the boat rocks back and forth.”
It’d be an interesting movie for Sony to resurrect and it really does sound like it could be (for better or worse) their version of Suicide Squad. But there remains the thorny question of just how many of the classic Sinister Six the studio can use?
For the record, the original lineup’s Vulture, Electro, Mysterio, Kraven the Hunter, Sandman and Doctor Octopus. Given that Marvel Studios is currently using both Vulture and Mysterio (and has asked Sony not to use the Green Goblin), their potential lineup is looking rather anaemic. Plus, if they can’t use Tom Holland’s Spidey, then who exactly are they going to be battling against?
With Venom being way better than most critics made it out to be, I’m curious about Sony’s long-term plans for their newborn cinematic universe. Who knows, maybe we could see a bizarro Sinister Six composed of Venom, Carnage, Morbius, Black Cat, Sable and, uh Man-Wolf?