Spider-Man: Homecoming ($874,357,374)

Spoiler:

Amy Pascal’s departure as co-chairman of Sony Pictures Entertainment and chairman of its motion picture group leaves Hollywood unsettled over the fate of the studio’s upcoming slate.

The biggest questions at Sony surround the Spider-Man franchise, sequels to the “Girl With the Dragon Tattoo” and the “Cleopatra” project.

It could take several months at the minimum before the post-Pascal priorities come into focus. And of course much depends on who her successor turns out to be. If Pascal’s top lieutenant, SPE Motion Picture Group president Doug Belgrad, gets the gig as many expect, there could be minimal changes to the line-up.

Pascal will remain in place through May, at which point she will segue to a producing deal at Sony. Besides Belgrad, other possible replacements from within are former Fox studio chief Tom Rothman, who runs TriStar Pictures; and Columbia Pictures production president Michael De Luca, who ran New Line during the 1990s.

It’s probable that Sony Pictures chairman-CEO Michael Lynton will be averse to tinkering with projects being developed by Rothman and Jeff Robinov’s Studio 8.

The biggest decision for Lynton and Pascal’s successor will be how to handle the Spider-Man franchise. “The Amazing Spider-Man 2″ did respectable business last summer but was hardly the $1 billion blockbuster that Pascal had told folks that she needed it to be.

“Spider-Man” remains a cash cow but the plans for expanding the Spidey universe through villain spin-offs and the next installment may be reexamined — since Pascal played the leading role pursuing that path. A new regime may take a stronger look at returning to the negotiation table with Marvel Studios over Spidey’s rights.

Sony’s last move on that front came in July during Comic-Con when the studio dated spin-off “Sinister Six” for Nov. 11, 2016, as the next tentpole in its key property — while moving back “The Amazing Spider-Man 3″ two years to 2018. The idea of bringing in villains is aimed at making Sony a stronger competitor against the likes of Disney/Marvel’s “Avengers” and Warner Bros.’ “Justice League” superheroes in the coming years.

The studio has also slated “Uncharted” for June 10, 2016 — the date previously held by “The Amazing Spider-Man 3” with Charles Roven and former Marvel Studios chief Avi Arad producing. Based on the PlayStation videogame series, it follows the adventures of treasure hunter Nathan Drake, signaling Sony’s desire to develop an Indiana Jones-style franchise.

The uncertainty will also extend to Sony’s relationship with powerhouse producer Scott Rudin. The Sony hack revealed a several nasty emails between Pascal and Rudin; additionally, Pascal decided to put Rudin’s Steve Jobs biopic into turnaround in November, resulting in Universal quickly picking up the project.

Pascal was still Rudin’s biggest champion at the studio and a big reason he signed a first-look deal with the studio in 2011. The most prominent of his projects include sequels to 2011’s “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo” — “The Girl Who Played With Fire” and “The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest.”

“Dragon Tattoo” was a critical success and performed respectably at the worldwide box office with $230 million but no one has been in any hurry to make the next two installments in the series. Pascal’s departure leaves the continuation of that series very much in doubt.

Rudin is also developing a “Little House on the Prairie” movie but the project does not appear to have gained much traction. That said, Pascal could wind up teaming with Rudin to produce the film once she’s launched her own production company at the studio.

“Cleopatra” also remains a big question mark as the big-budget biopic was probably Pascal’s biggest passion project at Sony. With Angelina Jolie seemingly irked about the leaked emails in which Rudin derided her and Pascal being the film’s biggest supporter, the chances of this movie moving elsewhere seems highly likely.
“Salt 2,” which is not a Rudin project, may also have a murky future with Jolie due to her feeling jilted by the emails.

In terms of projects on the franchise side, “Ghostbusters” and “21 Jump Street” seem safe, but the “Men in Black” series may either be reconsidered or completely abandoned, especially following the much-derided leaked email that suggested creating a spinoff that would combine the “Jump Street” movies with “Men in Black.” Additionally, “Men in Black 3″ was so costly and so panned by critics that the new regime may take a pass on this series altogether.

Sony Pictures Entertainment and Marvel Studios are joining forces on the next iteration of Spider-Man. Kevin Feige, who has steered a ton of hit franchise launches for Marvel, boards the project as producer. He will produce the next films with Amy Pascal, who just left the executive suites at Sony for a big production deal.

Under the deal, Spider-Man will appear in his film Marvel film that is part of Marvel’s Cinematic Universe, and then Sony Pictures will thereafter release the next installment of its $4 billion Spider-Man franchise, on July 28, 2017. There had been rumors that Sony might sell the webslinger back to Marvel and Disney, but that’s not what is happening. Instead, Sony keeps its top franchise, but this opens the door to Marvel Comics’ biggest superhero being able to cross-pollinate in the Marvel universe.

That has been a key benefit in launching Marvel hits from Iron Man to The Avengers. There had been talk that Spidey would surface in the next installment of Captain America: Civil War. Now, that can happen. It’s a smart move, because Spidey was showing signs of spandex fatigue. By comparison, Marvel under Feige has enjoyed one of the greatest runs in Hollywood-hit history and part of that is because he has been so adept at mixing heroes and tucking them into all of the franchises. He has launched hit series, one after another, culminating in The Avengers all-star team film. He has even struck gold launching risky second-tier films, which includes Guardians Of The Galaxy. Next up is Ant-Man with Paul Rudd.

Matt Tolmach and Avi Arad, who produced the most recent Amazing Spider-Man films directed by Marc Webb, will become exec producers going forward. Arad has a long history with Marvel, helping rescue the company from bankruptcy, among other things; Tolmach spearheaded the original Sam Raimi-directed trilogy as SPE production co-president, before joining Arad when he transitioned into producing.

Deadline reported last week in breaking the exit of Amy Pascal for a production deal that she would likely be a key player as Spider-Man moved forward and that she would join the project as producer as well as other pics that might include 007. The most recent Spidey installment, 2014’s The Amazing Spider-Man 2, grossed more than $700 million but was considered something of a disappointment for a film that cost north of $200 million and grossed about that amount domestically. Andrew Garfield has been playing the wall crawler alongside Emma Stone’s Gwen Stacy. She was a bright spot, but that character completed its run in the series. Sony had made plans for spinoff films based on The Sinister Six, a collection of Spidey villains.

This is a good development for fans. So far, the way it has worked is, both Sony and Fox (with the X-Men and Fantastic Four universes) had to keep a steady stream of pictures and developments coming or risk losing the franchises back to Marvel, which is owned by Disney. That is why, after Sam Raimi decided the original Tobey Maguire Spider-Man series had run its course, Sony had to move so quickly to basically prequelize the original storyline but rehash a lot of Spidey’s origin story. Sony would have risked losing a billion-dollar property if it hadn’t met certain deadlines. This accord signals a change in that relationship.

As I recall, Sony once had the Marvel property Doctor Strange but never got it together. It got the rights after Savoy Pictures went bankrupt, and the property was picked up by numerous studios back when nobody realized the power of Marvel. It finally fell back into Marvel control (as did Daredevil from Fox), and Deadline scooped last October 27 that that the studio had set Benedict Cumberbatch to star in Doctor Strange, with the Oscar-nominated The Imitation Game star playing the character for director Scott Derrickson.
Marvel and Sony jointly announced this new teaming this evening.

Said Bob Iger, Chairman and CEO of the Walt Disney Company: “Spider-Man is one of Marvel’s great characters, beloved around the world. We’re thrilled to work with Sony Pictures to bring the iconic web-slinger into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which opens up fantastic new opportunities for storytelling and franchise building.”
Said Michael Lynton, Chairman and CEO of Sony Pictures Entertainment: “We always want to collaborate with the best and most successful filmmakers to grow our franchises and develop our characters. Marvel, Kevin Feige and Amy, who helped orchestrate this deal, are the perfect team to help produce the next chapter of Spider-Man,. This is the right decision for the franchise, for our business, for Marvel and for the fans.”

Added Doug Belgrad, President of Sony Pictures Entertainment Motion Picture Group: “Sony Pictures and Marvel Studios share a love for the characters in the Spider-Man universe and have a long, successful history of working together. This new level of collaboration is the perfect way to take Peter Parker’s story into the future.”

Said Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige: “I am thrilled to team with my friends at Sony Pictures along with Amy Pascal to produce the next Spider-Man movie. Amy has been deeply involved in the realization on film of one of the world’s most beloved characters. Marvel’s involvement will hopefully deliver the creative continuity and authenticity that fans demand from the MCU. I am equally excited for the opportunity to have Spider-Man appear in the MCU, something which both we at Marvel and fans alike have been looking forward to for years.”

The Spider-Man franchise’s value to Sony is huge. Embraced all over the world, it is the most successful franchise in the history of Sony Pictures, with the five films having taken in more than $4 billion worldwide.

ForeverBlu wrote:Hey look, another reboot!


RME...

detective392 wrote:While it's another reboot movie at least it's not another origin story. Marvel already said that this will be a more experienced Spider-Man. We don't have to watch Uncle Ben die again.

UltimateMarvel wrote:I'd be ok with a little flashback as a result of seeing a photo of uncle Ben or something. At this point, everyone knows Peter's origin story. Webb's version was slightly different but everyone knows the gist of it. At the end of the day it's "bitten by a radioactive spider" no matter how you spin it.

WyldeMan wrote:Frankly going young is not the way to go, that's all we've ever seen. I want to see an adult Spidey, at least late 20's early 30's. Why put a teenager into a group like the Avengers when he's the only under 30 member?

WyldeMan wrote:The reason they should go adult, it skips yet another Origins tale.

Jeff Sneider from The Wrap just dropped a potential bomb regarding the next Spider-Man on the Meet the Movie Press podcast, which he co-hosts with Mark Reilly from Schmoes Know.

"This is not set in stone guys, but I'm telling you right now: Spider-Man is not going to be white," Jeff Sneider revealed. When Reilly asked him if that was speculation, Jeff replied, "I am 95% sure."

If Spider-Man isn't going to be white than what will he be? "Spider-Man is going to be most likely black," Jeff stated. "But there is a chance he could also be Latino. 95% sure not white."

Reilly then suggests, based on Jeff's information, that Marvel/Sony should go with Miles Morales instead of Peter Parker. "I don't think it's going to be Peter Parker," Jeff added. "I really feel strongly - Sony has an opportunity to beat Marvel and DC to the punch with sort of a major black comic book movie character. Like I mentioned last week, the e-mails that leaked were perceived to be racist in some quarters. I really think that is going to play into things."

Tom Rothman has been named head honcho of Sony Pictures, taking over from Amy Pascal who "stepped down" after that recent email hack fiasco. Even if you don't recognize his name, you will most definitely remember his work.

Rothman ran Fox back when the likes of Daredevil, Elektra and the previous Fantastic Four movies were released. He fast-tracked X-Men: The Last Stand, forcing Bryan Singer to abandon the project, and then placed Brett Ratner at the helm. Word is he also micromanaged X-Men: Origins: Wolverine into such a mess that the film wasn't even recognizable to its director, Gavin Hood. Some say Rothman dislikes comic book movies in general, only having a hand in producing the ones he did because of how lucrative they are, and is allegedly one of the main reasons there is such bad blood between Fox and Marvel Studios these days.

So you see, probably not the wisest move for Sony to make as they embark on a partnership with Marvel.

Obviously not all of the blame for those movies' shortcoming can be attributed solely to Rothman, but the fact remains they were produced on his watch. Will this effect Sony's future plans for Spider-Man and those spin-off movies going forward? Could it even have some bearing on Marvel's plans to use the character in their project(s)? Only time will tell of course, but if Rothman hasn't learned anything from his past mistakes, we might well be looking back with fondness on the glory days of The Amazing Spider-Man 2 someday.

WyldeMan wrote:I think that if we must see yet another Origins movie, it could be interesting to see someone else and what they'd do with his abilities. Though I know nothing about Miles so I have no idea if he even has an interesting Origin, but at this point, I'm just over teenage Peter Parker.

WyldeMan wrote:Rothman is a fucking hack and the enemy of comic book movies, every time I used to read his name it was about his cunt, behavior rushing production on comic films. If people though Pascal put Sony into a bad situation, things just got so much worse at least she understood the value of them.

UltimateMarvel wrote:As long as Sony has no say on how they use him on the Marvel movies, they can do what they want on the solo movies. I hope he gives a shit though, this is a fresh start on everything after all.

WyldeMan wrote:

UltimateMarvel wrote:As long as Sony has no say on how they use him on the Marvel movies, they can do what they want on the solo movies. I hope he gives a shit though, this is a fresh start on everything after all.

No say? They have heavy say, that was a big part of the deal.

UltimateMarvel wrote:Really? I thought their only concern was profit.

WyldeMan wrote:

UltimateMarvel wrote:Really? I thought their only concern was profit.

It is, but this means they will demand only the most marketable characters for toys. Story is no longer an issue, Sony might as well be run by Disney.

UltimateMarvel wrote:

WyldeMan wrote:

UltimateMarvel wrote:Really? I thought their only concern was profit.

It is, but this means they will demand only the most marketable characters for toys. Story is no longer an issue, Sony might as well be run by Disney.

Well, that might not be such a bad thing at this point. Changes are needed because rebooting didn't work for them. Using Green Goblin again is not an issue if they do it right. I don't know if they'll go the Ultimate version again though.

WyldeMan wrote:

I don't ever want to see the lame as fuck Green Goblin ever again, he's been done to death and never once has he been anything but lame.

I'd prefer a dark adult Spidey movie with a focus on a Kraven storyline. I don't want 3 villains per film, just one and get it right for once.

WyldeMan wrote:I don't ever want to see the lame as fuck Green Goblin ever again, he's been done to death and never once has he been anything but lame.

I'd prefer a dark adult Spidey movie with a focus on a Kraven storyline. I don't want 3 villains per film, just one and get it right for once.

WyldeMan wrote:Kraven was the only reason I even read Spidey as a kid, one day I saw him on the cover and the dude was a beast, unlike the other Spidey villains I'd seen on covers before and for 7 year old me, a spider man fighting a caveman was way cooler than fighting a god damned muppet on a hoverboard. 

I'd prefer either Kraven or Venom but if they are gonna give Eddie Brock another run, it's gotta be dark. I loved that Venom short film Ryan Kwanten released a few years back, he had the right concept.

UltimateMarvel wrote:RIGHT! Totally forgot about that short film. Post it here if you can find it. Tried looking for it once but couldn't find it.

WyldeMan wrote:

UltimateMarvel wrote:RIGHT! Totally forgot about that short film. Post it here if you can find it. Tried looking for it once but couldn't find it.

All you gotta type in YouTube is "Ryan Kwanten Venom" and its the first thing to come up.

Latino-Review have dropped a massive scoop about Spectacular Spider-Man. Yup, it sounds like that's the title being considered by Marvel and Sony in what they hope will be a three part series coming out over three consecutive summers. Everything which was being developed by Sony (including that Aunt May spinoff) has now been scrapped, including the standalone Sinister Six movie. However, Drew Goddard (The Cabin in the Woods) isn't out of a job as he's set to write and direct Spectacular Spider-Man. That seems like a fitting title, and differentiates it from Amazing.

So, story details! As expected, there will be no origin story and the movie will take place in high school. However, they're thinking long term, as the actor cast as Spider-Man (likely an unknown, and NOT Dylan O'Brien as one redditor claims) is set to be involved with multiple trilogies similar to Harry Potter as we follow his journey over a number of years. Here's the really interesting stuff though. According to the site, "A major part of the first film will involve Spider- Man fighting Iron Man and then trying to pass the “audition” to join the Avengers" while "The first film will involved the Sinister Six coming together with the thought to later maybe spin them off."

UltimateMarvel wrote:Dylan is busy anyway. My second choice is Logan Lerman.

WyldeMan wrote:

UltimateMarvel wrote:Dylan is busy anyway. My second choice is Logan Lerman.

According to that we should be expecting an unknown.

WyldeMan wrote:Dylan O'Brien and Logan Lerman are the top contenders right now as they are taking Spidey back to high school. O'Brien is going to have a huge career but I don't know if he'd have time for this franchise when he's currently filming the second film in the Maze Runner trilogy and he's still a Teen Wolf regular. I think he'd make a great Peter Parker, he has the perfect personality for it, Stiles is proof of that. If he got the gig I'd be on board, but I am not really familiar with Lerman other than reading his name across the trades for the last several years.

GrooThePerverted wrote:You never watched the Percy Jackson movies?  Was also in Perks of Being a Wallflower and he was Christian Bale's son in 3:10 To Yuma

GrooThePerverted wrote:Don't you think that the Percy  Jackson Franchise ( there's like 3 more books to do) would discount him from the Spidey Franchise?  I can't see him filming 6 big budget franchise movies like this back to back to back to you get the picture.