Sony Pictures Entertainment Chairman Tony Vinciquerra recently spoke with The Wrap about the current atmosphere of releasing massive blockbusters during the pandemic and with the theater reopenings and suggested they’re not convinced about releasing their expensive movies too soon.
VINCIQUERRA: “What we won’t do is make the mistake of putting a very, very expensive $200 million movie out in the market unless we’re sure that theaters are open and operating at significant capacity.”
They seem to be specifically speaking out about Tenet’s disastrous domestic debut given that Warner Bros. film cost them $200+ million, but had only managed to make $9.4 million on opening weekend and another $6.7 million in the second weekend. That studio believed the turnout of audiences would be greater because they were offering a massive movie to the masses and that thinking backfired.
It is worth noting that Sony Pictures was one of the first studios to pull their big tentpoles out of the summer lineup and pushing them to 2021.
I’m curious what this means for March movies like Morbius and Ghostbusters: Afterlife along with other big films such as Venom: Let There Be Carnage, Uncharted, and Spider-Man 3.
Also, what does it being “safe” look like? Waiting until a vaccine for COVID-19 is in circulation?
Here is the rundown of Sony’s 2021 live-action blockbuster schedule but I wouldn’t count on these dates sticking.
Deadline reports the latest addition to the upcoming Japanese-set action-thriller starring recent Oscar-winner Brad Pitt and directed by David Leitch (Deadpool 2, John Wick, Hobbs & Shaw), as Andrew Koji will play one of the many assassins in the film traveling on a Japanese bullet train.
Koji is best known for his Cinemax series Warrior and will play the new Storm Shadow in the G.I. Joe prequel film Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins for Paramount Pictures, which is expected to become a reoccurring franchise role as multiple G.I. Joe movies are in the works.
Joey King also has a role in the film.
Filming on Bullet Train is expected to begin this fall in Los Angeles, California.
There has been an assumption since it was reported that Booksmart director Olivia Wilde was hired for an unnamed Marvel film for Sony Pictures, rumored to be Spider-Woman, that Marvel Studios would be involved as a co-producer. Potentially making the film for Sony like they are with the three Spider-Man films starring Tom Holland.
While reaffirming she landed the gig during a chat with the podcast Shut Up Evan hosted by Evan Ross Katz (via Entertainment Weekly), Wilde invoked the name of Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige but stopped short from saying Marvel Studios are directly involved with the project or even confirming its indeed Spider-Woman.
WILDE: “God, listen to me trying to avoid Kevin Feige’s pellet gun.”
Olivia went on to talk about more women being able to bring their own perspectives to the superhero film genre which is has been dominated by male directors/writers.
WILDE: “Look, we are seeing this incredible influx of female directors and storytellers getting to take hold of this genre, of the superhero space, and infuse it with their own perspective. So, not only do I get to tell this story as a director, but I get to develop this story, and that was what made it so incredible for me.”
“I’m just honored to be amongst this wave of women who are showing up and saying ‘we are not only going to step in and try and tell this story like men do, we’re actually going to reframe the stories themselves. And the industry is, as far as I can tell, really supportive of that. There is a sea change and it’s because of these decades of trailblazers who demanded this over and over and over again and it’s finally broken through and I’m very fortunate to be there with it.”
I’m not entirely convinced just yet that is will be another Sony/Marvel co-production as they haven’t come out and made this official. I don’t really understand why they would hide this information after the report of Wilde was directing the film and her confirmation, unless they’re waiting for some event to make the big announcement.
Then again, Jessica Drew the traditional version of Spider-Woman, is a product of HYDRA brainwashing (not unlike The Winter Soldier) with a connection to Captain America villain Ophelia Sarkissian aka Viper (also known as Madame Hydra), who pretended to be Jessica’s birth mother. Jessica also became an Agent of S.W.O.R.D., the cosmic counterpart of S.H.I.E.L.D. that will be introduced in WandaVision and is expected to have a larger role in Nia DaCosta’s Captain Marvel 2.
Drew did not debut in the pages of Spider-Man comic books and means that Marvel Studios has direct access to her.
Even with movies like Venom, Morbius, Venom: Let There Be Carnage, and Kraven The Hunter you’ll see them interact directly with Marvel Entertainment (still under Kevin Feige’s purview), their liaison branch, does work alongside filmmakers and studio producers at Sony Pictures to make sure the characters are being properly represented to the public.
She may have genuinely spoken with Kevin Feige but it remains to be seen if this was via Marvel Entertainment or Marvel Studios, I’ll be hoping for the latter alongside everyone else.
Olivia Wilde is currently busy directing the New Line Cinema thriller Don’t Worry Darling starring Florence Pugh, Dakota Johnson, Chris Pine, and Harry Styles, which takes in a California desert community during the 1950s.
Oscar-nominee Adam Driver has been busy post-Star Wars as the actor has cozened up to director Ridley Scott joining both The Last Duel and his upcoming crime drama Gucci.
Deadline reports that Driver has nabbed a leading role in a mysterious science fiction thriller for Sony Pictures titled 65. The project will be written and directed by Scott Beck and Bryan Woods, the screenwriters of A Quiet Place.
Sam Raimi, who is about to direct Marvel’s Doctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness will be producing via Raimi Productions.
There isn’t much in the way of plot details but the title could suggest a setting of 1965 and possibly link to the Kecksburg UFO incident.
On the heels of the news that Spider-Man spinoff film Kraven The Hunter is indeed moving forward at Sony Pictures with Deadline reporting that Triple Frontier director J.C. Chandor is in talks with the studio, it looks like the script will have new writers as well.
Richard Wenk (The Equalizer, The Expendables 2) wrote the original draft of Kraven and it seems that the studio has brought in some seasoned comic book screenwriters with Art Marcum and Matt Holloway as mentioned in Deadline’s report.
The writing duo is behind the first Iron Man, Punisher: War Zone, Men In Black: International, and fellow Spider-Man spinoff Morbius. They most recently worked with Sony on the Tom Holland and Mark Wahlberg video game adaptation Uncharted, currently filming in Germany.
Sergei Kravinoff aka Kraven The Hunter is a Russian game hunter that crosses paths with multiple Marvel Comics heroes over the years but is primarily known as a Spider-Man villain, which has led to some speculation that Kraven could be showing up in Marvel Studios’ Spider-Man 3 and because of comments from director Ryan Coogler assumptions he may appear in Black Panther 2 as well.
Neither rumors have been confirmed in any substantial way but there is a shot that Sony will attempt to add Tom Holland to this new Kraven spinoff according to previous comments made by the film’s original screenwriter Richard Wenk.
Speaking with Discussing Film (via SlashFilm) in the fall of 2018, Kraven screenwriter Richard Wenk suggested that Spider-Man would be part of the film.
WENK: “I’m just starting it. It’s an interesting world. A great character. It’s going to adhere very closely to the lore of Kraven the Hunter. And he is going to come face to face with Spider-Man. I’m just beginning it, beginning the process, and because it’s a big IP, Marvel world, there’s lots of hurdles to overcome before you can start writing, to crack the right story and to get the right tone. It’s a new world for me. But what’s nice about it is it’s a very grounded character, he doesn’t have a lot of crazy superpowers and things like that so he’s more grounded and that fits what I like to do. That’s as much as I know.”
Hiring new writers could put into question if we will ultimately see Holland’s Peter Paker being part of the film as that version may have changed since subsequent rewrites from Marcum and Holloway.
However, there are clear signs that these Sony-made Marvel films already connect directly to the Marvel-made solo Spider-Man films suggesting a crossover with Holland’s Spidey is only a matter of time.
Morbius is confirmed to be directly tied to the MCU Spider-Man films after the trailer revealed that Michael Keaton’s Vulture from Spider-Man: Homecoming is showing up in the film during some jailbreak sequence with Jared Leto’s Michael Morbius linking Homecoming to Morbius.
It also gave a direct nod to the final scene in Spider-Man: Far From Home when Parker’s identity is revealed and is framed for the murder of the villainous Quentin Beck aka Mysterio, as Morbius walks past a Spider-Man poster with “murderer” painted on it.
J.K. Simmons confirmed to SiriusXM that he filmed another J. Jonah Jameson cameo possibly for Morbius or Venom: Let There Be Carnage along with a plan to do another. Jameson could be another character that moves between the MCU and Sony-made films.
SIMMONS: “There is one more JJJ appearance in the can and from what I’m hearing there is a plan for yet another one. Hopefully, JJJ will continue now and forever.”
Kraven’s half-brother may have actually cameoed in Spider-Man: Far From Home, as Numar Acar played Nick Fury (Talos) associate Dimitri, who may or may not be a version of Dimitri Smerdyakov aka The Chameleon.
We’re yet to see Venom: Let There Be Carnage have any real significant crossover stuff as they have yet to release a trailer for the upcoming sequel, unless they’ve snuck a cameo from J.K. Simmon’s newly revived J. Jonah Jameson.
Kraven is yet another part of Sony’s greater plans for its splinter Marvel cinematic universe with the unfortunate corporate name Sony Pictures Universe of Marvel Characters, yes that is the official name they’re going with.
Here is a rundown of the other Marvel projects in the works and releasing from Sony Pictures.
The studio recently moved Morbius to a release date of March 19th, 2021, and placed the Venom sequel Venom: Let There Be Carnage to June 24th, 2021.
Spider-Man 3 from director Jon Watts is supposed to begin shooting this winter with a December 17th, 2021 release date but there is a likelihood that production starts in early 2021. The combination of COVID-19, multiple filming locations, and the Uncharted shoot will likely be determining factors if they’ll be able to start or finish on schedule.
A potential Spider-Woman film will be directed by Olivia Wilde according to Deadline with a script from Wilde and Katie Silberman, a previous script was penned by Gary Spinelli (American Made, Chaos Walking). If the film is indeed Spider-Woman, it would focus on Jessica Drew and suggests the project could be handled by Marvel Studios in another co-production deal because Marvel has access to Drew as she didn’t originate in the pages of Spider-Man comics.
Madame Web will be directed by S.J. Clarkson but the report from Variety stressed that while a screenwriter hadn’t been chosen the studio was interested in casting Amy Adams and Charlize Theron, then building a script around that actress.
Jackpot is another female-led superhero project at Sony that will have a script from Marc Guggenheim (Green Lantern, Arrow), a director has yet to be announced though.
A Sinister Six film was being developed during The Amazing Spider-Man era with Drew Goddard (The Martian) attached to write and direct. It also crumbled to pieces when Sony decided to reboot the character for a second time scrapping the project in the process. Franchise producer Amy Pascal has voiced some interest in circling back to Goddard and Sinister Six at some point.
Black Cat and Silver Sable could end up getting solo movies after their team-up film Silver & Black saw it’s production halted and was split into two solo projects instead. There haven’t been many updates on the progress of either film. It’s possible that multiple character and plot leaks contributed to Sony ultimately putting the film in ice.
Nightwatch and Silk might also eventually get their own films, but again there haven’t been recent updates on their status at the studio.
Back in March, The Wrap reported that screenwriter Roberto Orci was attached to write an untitled Spider-Man spinoff for Sony, but the information hasn’t been supported by other outlets or what that project will be. There had also been rumors from The Iluminerdi that characters such as Man-Wolf and Solo could be getting their own films as well, this has yet to be supported by the trades. Either could end up being this potential untitled Orci project.
Marvel’s standing deal with Sony for Spider-Man allows them to make Spider-Man 3 keeping it within the MCU and they’ll have access to Spidey for another undisclosed Marvel Studios film. It’s a strong possibility that Disney and Sony could re-up the deal in the not too distant future.
We’ll have to wait and see what projects ultimately go in front of cameras and are released by the studio. It’s worth noting that a production timeline for Kraven The Hunter andOlivia Wilde’s film seemingly hasn’t been locked-down.
Deadline reports some active movement on their Spider-Man spinoff Kraven The Hunter as Sony Pictures is in talks with director J.C. Chandor for the comic book film. Chandor is best known for his thrillers A History of Violence and Triple Frontier.
The film’s script was penned by Richard Wenk, the writer of The Expendables 2 and The Equalizer.
Sony is also said to begin filming Spider-Man 3 in the winter. I wouldn’t be shocked if filming is bumped to 2021 and the release sometime in 2022.
Amy Pascal is producing Kraven The Hunter.
Who will end up playing Kraven is unknown and after the news of Olivia Wilde directing her own female-led spinoff (likely Spider-Woman) for Sony, the studio is really pushing forward with their splinter cinematic universe.
They’re also moving forward with a Madame Web movie directed by S.J. Clarkson alongside solo films in various stages of developing featuring characters such as Black Cat, Silver Sable, and Jackpot.
Next year will see the release of Morbius and Venom: Let There Be Carnage.
Hours ago, Deadline first reported that Booksmart‘s Olivia Wilde would be directing and co-writing a new Spider-Man spinoff film at Sony Pictures. They claimed that sources believe it would focus on Spider-Woman best known as Jessica Drew.
Olivia Wilde has now confirmed this news on Twitter and added a spider emoji, suggesting that the Spider-Woman tidbit was indeed accurate.
Adding to the Spider-Woman thing is that Wilde didn’t correct actor Josh Gad when he brought-up the involvement of Marvel Studios and suddenly after the news Marvel dropped a piece to help inform people about Jessica Drew aka Spider-Woman, the timing doesn’t seem to be an accident. The expectation here is that this could be another co-production between Sony Pictures and Marvel Studios, leading the latter being behind the production like with Tom Holland’s Spider-Man trilogy.
It’s the least I could do in exchange for the gift of Olaf 🙏
Unlike with other Spider-Man characters that are getting spinoffs at Sony, Jessica Drew debuted in the pages of Marvel Spotlight #32 and 50 issues of her own solo series meaning she is fair game for Marvel Studios to use and is why there had been plenty of expectations of a co-production between Sony and Marvel.
Jessica Drew connects to multiple characters outside of Spider-Man as she was an Agent of S.W.O.R.D., the cosmic version of S.H.I.E.L.D. that will be introduced in the Marvel Cinematic Universe via WandaVision and Captain Marvel character Monica Rambeau.
Drew has origins with HYDRA brainwashing her to become Arachne and Ophelia Sarkissian aka Viper (Madame Hydra) pretended to be her birth mother.
There is an expectation that S.W.O.R.D. will have a sizable role in Nia DaCosta’s Captain Marvel 2, where we could first see Jessica if she is indeed being planned on being inserted into the MCU in a similar way to Tom Holland’s Spider-Man was in Captain America: Civil War.
S.W.O.R.D. could also be carrying over to something like Ms. Marvel as well.
Then again, Spider-Woman would more likely be an origin film given how different it is compared to the various other “Spider-People” connected to Peter Parker.
When this project will begin shooting is a little unknown as Wilde is about to begin shooting her thriller Don’t Worry Darling this fall.
Deadline has breaking Marvel movie news as Olivia Wilde (Booksmart) has been hired by Sony Pictures to direct a new Spider-Man spinoff film which they claim will be Spider-Woman. Wilde will also co-write with partner Katie Silberman, a previous script was penned by Gary Spinelli (American Made, Chaos Walking).
Amy Pascal, who is the main producing force of the Spider-Man franchise at Sony is producing the project as well.
The original version of Spider-Woman is Jessica Drew, a character that is most likely shared by both Sony and Marvel Studios. However, Marvel isn’t mentioned in this write up which could suggest they might not be involved in whatever incarnation they’re attempting despite previous rumblings that Marvel/Sony would talking about coming together for a co-production.
There is a chance this could be a Spider-Gwen project given the character’s popularity in the wake of Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse‘s Oscar win and reportedly getting her own spinoff animated film featuring other female characters.
Other female Marvel projects in development at Sony include Black Cat, Silver Sable, Jackpot, and a Madame Webb film from director S.J. Clarkson.
I guess we’ll have to wait for some official announcement from the studio.
Olivia is currently busy with her thriller Don’t Worry Darling shooting this fall with a cast that consists of Florence Pugh, Chris Pine, Shia LaBeouf and Dakota Johnson. This would suggest this Marvel film won’t begin filming anytime soon.
While speaking with Howard Stern on his SiriusXM show to promote his upcoming HBO Max film An American Pickle, comedic actor Seth Rogen confirmed leaked Sony Pictures emails that the reason a sequel to Pineapple Express ultimately wasn’t made was over a dispute over the film’s budget.
ROGEN: “We tried to make one and thanks to the Sony hack you can actually find the email when Sony decided to kill the movie and not make it. It was something we were very open to several years ago, but Sony was not that interested in it.”
I think we probably wanted too much money.
Pineapple Express was a bit of a financial hit for Sony as the film ended up earning $101.6 million on a budget of $27 million alongside profits from the home video market with at least $47.9 million.
However, leaked emails from the Sony hack revealed that they were looking to get $50 million for the sequel, almost double the original’s budget. Sony wanted more of a budget in the realm of $40-45 million, the expectation the higher budget would go to salaries since Rogen admits to Stern people weren’t really paid much on the original film despite the film being a success for Sony Pictures.
The Sony hack was directly connected to Seth Rogen’s North Korean assassination comedy The Interview, which the North Korean government didn’t take too kindly and led to international death threats on the actor.
It’ll be interesting to see if the sequel could find new life in the world of streaming, that’s if Seth and Evan Goldberg wanted to return to it in the future.
PINEAPPLE EXPRESS – Stoner Dale Denton’s (Seth Rogen) enjoyment of a rare strain of marijuana may prove fatal when he drops his roach in a panic after witnessing a murder. Upon learning that the fancy weed can be traced back to them, Dale and his dealer (James Franco) go on the lam, with a dangerous drug lord (Gary Cole) and crooked cop (Rosie Perez) hot on their heels.
Deadline reports that young actress Joey King is currently in negotiations to play the role of Prince in Sony’s action film Bullet Train from director David Leitch (Deadpool 2, Atomic Blonde). Oscar-winner Brad Pitt is set to play an assassin named Ladybug.
The film is based on the novel Maria Beetle from Japanese author Kotaro Isaka, it will focus on a group of assassins on a bullet train.
King’s credits include The Dark Knight Rises, The Conjuring, White House Down, The Act, and most recently with Netflix’s The Kissing Booth 2.
Filming is expected to begin this fall in Los Angeles, California.
However, that will likely be dependant on how the city/state is doing with the pandemic and if there is a second wave that shuts down productions.
THE RONIN 