Tag: Spider-Man

Posted on in Film News

Sony Pictures Exec Reaffirms Spider-Man Won’t Appear In ‘Venom: Let There Be Carnage’ While Hyping The Sequel – “You Don’t Miss Spider-Man”

Sony Pictures is mapping-out their own cinematic universe featuring the multiple heroes and villains they’re able to give feature films and television shows to thanks to owning the Spider-Man rights. It’s become increasingly confusing what their ultimate plan is going to be with the various spinoff films as the original Venom was rumored to include a cameo from Tom Holland but that never happened and fans have been sort of kept in the dark officially about other Sony/Marvel projects too.

While we might eventually see Holland start to appear in these movies at some point, new quotes from Sony Picture Motion Pictures Group President Sandford Panitch during an interview with Variety gives us the impression that they studio hopes their spinoff films don’t even need Spider-Man to hook audiences.

Sanford Panitch is quick to point out that Sony Pictures doesn’t see their cinematic universe as a “Spider-Verse,” but actually their own Marvel universe while alluding to these projects holding their own without the iconic superhero. This is highlighted when Panitch admits that Tom Holland’s Spider-Man won’t be appearing with Tom Hardy’s Venom in the upcoming sequel Venom: Let There Be Carnage. But also teased the two characters may meet up, eventually.

PANITCH: “We don’t really think of our 900 characters as the Spidey-verse. We have a Marvel universe. The volume of characters we have — you know, wait until you see this next Venom. You don’t miss Spider-Man…It’ll be exciting if they do meet, right?”

This sentiment was recently echoed not too long ago by Venom 2’s director Andy Serkis while speaking with IGN about the first-look trailer. Serkis mentioning that these the characters in the Venom sequel aren’t aware of Spider-Man and “treating this very much as it’s own world.”

SERKIS: “Obviously, there are links between Venom and Spider-Man in the Marvel Universe and the Spider-Man story, but in this, we’re treating this very much as it’s his own world, the Venom story is his own world. There are nods and little moments just like this, the newspaper Daily Bugle, of course, but on the whole, he’s unaware, they’re unaware, at this point of other characters like Spider-Man. So that’s the way we’ve chosen to play this particular episode of the movie but well, we’ll wait and see, what little things you can pick out of it.”

The original Venom, earned a massive $856 million at the global box office without Spider-Man, so it’s possible the studio believes other films could replicate this success on their own.

VENOM: LET THERE BE CARNAGE – Tom Hardy returns to the big screen as the lethal protector Venom, one of MARVEL’s greatest and most complex characters. Directed by Andy Serkis, the film also stars Michelle Williams, Naomie Harris and Woody Harrelson, in the role of the villain Cletus Kasady/Carnage.

SOURCE: VARIETY

Posted on in News

Sony CEO Yoshida Kenichiro Says Sony Pictures Isn’t For Sale

Every couple of months film and business trades run speculative interviews with analysts or “activist investors” claiming that Sony Pictures is poised for a big sale to places like Apple, Amazon, or Netflix. None of this is anything but opinion dressed-up as an editorial/interview, instead of based on concrete information or reporting. It usually comes after a shift in the industry like the Walt Disney Company acquiring 21st Century Fox or when telecoms company AT&T got their hands on a media giant like Time-Warner.

After the WarnerMedia-Discovery and Amazon-MGM deals being announced this month, it seems like we should prepare for another run of wild claims and speculation that Sony Pictures is next to be sold-off.

However, that doesn’t seem to be case, according to the person that actually runs the company. There is now a real statement coming from Sony CEO Yoshida Kenichiro while speaking with the Financial Times (via The Hollywood Reporter), Kenichiro says that while they’re open to partner with streaming services they’re not going to sell the film division.

KENICHIRO: “There is drastic realignment in the media industry, but I think our strategy of creating content as an independent studio while working with various partners will work.” 

It’s worth mentioning that Sony did strike deals with Netflix and Disney recently, but that has to do with post-theatrical window streaming rights of feature films and they’ve been working towards a television deal with Amazon that includes the Spider-Man spinoff series Silk. These deals will expand their presence in the streaming space, far from an actual acquisition. One of the big reasons for moves like this is that Sony doesn’t have their own streaming service, so, licensing their content to multiple suitors isn’t that surprising as the media landscape changes.

The Hollywood Reporter also added a comment from Sony Pictures Entertainment chief Tony Vinciquerra from the investor day presentation, where he sounded confident that the shows and films in development based on the PlayStation IP will continue the momentum as they have at least ten projects in the pipeline. Those PlayStation projects include Tom Holland’s Uncharted film, an HBO series based on The Last of Us, and a Ghost of Tsushima movie from John Wick franchise director Chad Stahelski.

VINCIQUERRA: “The PlayStation project has tremendous momentum with the establishment of PlayStation productions and ten projects already in development.”

They also have a string of their own Marvel films such as J.C. Chandor’s Kraven The Hunter, Olivia Wilde’s Spider-Woman, Spider-Man: No Way Home, Venom: Let There Be Carnage, and Jared Leto’s vampire flick Morbius. Sony Japan was behind the pressure on the film division to make a deal with Marvel Studios/Disney that led to Tom Holland appearing as Spider-Man in solo films made by Marvel and appearing in their other films as well.

Having a corner of the Marvel Comics rights and developing multiple projects based on their popular PlayStation video game franchises could keep them competitive for the foreseeable future. Franchises like Bad Boys and Jumanji seem to be audience draws the studio can rely on beyond Spider-Man projects.

SOURCE: THE FINANCIAL TIMES

Posted on in Film News

‘Kraven The Hunter’: Sony Approached Keanu Reeves, Brad Pitt, John David Washington & Adam Driver – ‘Spider-Man’ Spinoff Releases January 2023

Yesterday, it was announced that Sony Pictures had selected British actor Aaron Taylor-Johnson (Kick-Ass, Bullet Train, Avengers: Age of Ultron) to lead their latest Spider-Man spinoff film, Kraven The Hunter. The project will focus on Sergei Kravinoff aka Kraven, a Russian aristocrat turned big-game hunter that becomes a major antagonist of Marvel superhero Spider-Man as a member of The Sinister Six and half-brother of fellow villain The Chameleon.

Some of the names rumored for the role were indeed true, as Deadline reporter Justin Kroll tweeted a list of names that Sony Pictures had considered to play Kraven but they had passed. Those high-profile names were Keanu Reeves (John Wick, The Matrix), Brad Pitt (Once Upon A Time In Hollywood, Fight Club, Inglorious Basterds), John David Washington (Tenet), and Adam Driver (House of Gucci, Logan Lucky, Star Wars: The Force Awakens).

However, Aaron Taylor-Johnson reportedly “blew away” Sony brass thanks to footage from his latest project, Bullet Train.

I find it interesting that the latter two actors being co-stars in Spike Lee’s Oscar-winning film BlacKkKlansman, the filmmaker had been attached to make a Nightwatch movie for the studio with a script from Luke Cage showrunner Cheo Hodari Coker.

It’s noteworthy that John David Washington was mentioned in the group, as it could signal back to when Black Panther director Ryan Coogler talked about wanting to use Kraven and the actor’s own comments from the Tenet press tour last year mentioning his desire to play Reed Richards in Marvel’s Fantastic Four reboot from Spider-Man: No Way Home director Jon Watts.

Kraven The Hunter will be directed by J.C. Chandor (A Most Violent Year, Triple Frontier) from a scripted penned by Richard Wenk (The Equalizer, The Expendables 2) with Art Marcum and Matt Holloway tackling rewrites. The duo of screenwriters aren’t strangers to studio genre projects working on Iron Man, Punisher: War Zone, Transformers: The Last Knight, Men In Black: International, and the upcoming Tom Holland video game movie Uncharted.

Sony is attempting to build their own cinematic universe featuring various Spider-Man friends and foes. Some of those upcoming films consist of Venom: Let There Be Carnage, Jared Leto’s vampire flick Morbius, Olivia Wilde’s Spider-Woman movie, and a Madame Web movie. It remains to be seen of these movies will or will not be directly connected to Marvel Studios’ cinematic universe, as hiring the former Quicksilver actor would suggest that Kraven isn’t connected to the hard-canon MCU.

The Spider-Man spinoff has landed a release date of January 13, 2023 from Sony Pictures and suggests that production could begin by 2022.

SOURCE: DEADLINE

Posted on in Film News

‘Kraven The Hunter’: Aaron Taylor-Johnson Nabs Titular Role In Sony’s ‘Spider-Man’ Spinoff Movie Directed By J.C. Chandor

Sony Pictures is developing a heap of Marvel movies set within their own Spider-Man cinematic universe with Venom: Let There Be Carnage and Morbius on the horizon. Another big project is one focused on Spidey villain Kraven The Hunter that was written by Art Marcum, Matt Holloway, and Richard Wenk with J.C. Chandor set to director.

Sony has found their Kraven, as The Wrap reports that British actor Aaron Taylor-Johnson has landed the titular role in the Marvel spinoff film. The actor isn’t new to comic book adaptations as he played Quicksilver in Avengers: Age of Ultron, took the lead role in the two Kick-Ass movies, and has a role in the Kingsman prequel The King’s Man. He most recently joined the cast of David Leitch’s Japanese-set action film Bullet Train that stars Oscar-winner Brad Pitt.

While many people are under the impression that the spinoffs could end up part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it’s clear that hiring Marvel’s Quicksilver actor is a sign that the two universes aren’t as connected as fans believed.

SOURCE: THE WRAP

Posted on in Film News

Sony & Disney Make Domestic Streaming Deal For Marvel Properties From 2022 To 2026

Sony Pictures recently signed a lucrative deal with Netflix for post-theatrical release Pay 1 window, but that doesn’t end there. Variety states that Disney and Sony have made a new streaming deal for their Marvel properties that will see their films jumping to Disney+ after their post-theatrical run at Netflix. The deal kick-ins in with 2022 releases likely starting with Jared Leto’s Morbius and subsequent Marvel releases from Sony up until 2026.

Disney will also get access to other Sony content.

The wide-ranging deal, which runs through Sony’s 2026 theatrical slate, also calls for Sony titles to run across Disney’s array of streaming and linear platforms, making it unprecedented in scope as it covers Disney Plus, Hulu, FX Networks, ABC, Disney Channels and Freeform. It also includes a significant number of library titles that will be spread among various outlets.

There are heap of Spider-Man spinoffs in the works at Sony with Tom Hardy’s Venom 3 (quietly announced with the Sony/Netflix deal), J.C. Chandor’s Kraven The Hunter, Olivia Wilde’s Spider-Woman, Madame Web, Jackpot, Nightwatch, and Sinister Six (if they end-up resurrecting it). The sequel to Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse is likely part of the deal and the other animated Marvel projects in the works at Sony Animation Studios.

In September, it was reported that Amazon and Sony were in negotiations to bring their Marvel television projects such as Silk to the streaming giant that is already home to The Boys and Invincible.

It seems like a win-win for Sony Pictures as the studio didn’t have a streaming service and now has two homes allowing them to make revenue post-theatrical without having to launch a new service during a crowded market, which has been an extremely costly venture for other studios.

SOURCE: VARIETY

Posted on in Film News

Trio of Directors Announced For ‘Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse’ Sequel – Team Includes ‘Soul’ Co-Director Kemp Powers

While we’re still waiting on official confirmation that we’ll be getting a live-action Spider-Verse movie with Spider-Man: No Way Home, Sony Pictures is moving forward with a sequel to the Miles Morales franchise that was launched with the Oscar-winning animated film Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse.

Sony Pictures Animation now has three directors working on the next installment as Variety reports that they’ve secured two more directors to help out Joaquim Dos Santos (Legend of Korra) with Kemp Powers (Soul, One Night In Miami) and the original film’s production designer Justin K. Thompson joining the team. Kemp is currently nominated for Best Animated Feature thanks to his excellent work on Pixar’s Soul.

It’s script is being penned by Shang-Chi’s Dave Callaham, Phil Lord, and Chris Miller.

The last film ended with Miguel O’Hara aka Spider-Man 2099 (voiced by Oscar Isaac) suggesting that we’ll see a technological device used to move between the Spider-Verse in the sequel and we’ll see Miguel have an important role. Producers have also teased that characters such as Takuya Yamashiro aka Japanese Spider-Man will be considered for the lineup alongside other potential candidates like Cindy Moon aka Silk.

Sony has given Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse 2 a release date of October 7, 2022.

SPIDER-MAN: INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE – Bitten by a radioactive spider in the subway, Brooklyn teenager Miles Morales suddenly develops mysterious powers that transform him into the one and only Spider-Man. When he meets Peter Parker, he soon realizes that there are many others who share his special, high-flying talents. Miles must now use his newfound skills to battle the evil Kingpin, a hulking madman who can open portals to other universes and pull different versions of Spider-Man into our world.

SOURCE: VARIETY

Posted on in Film News

Tom Hardy’s ‘Venom: Let There Be Carnage’ Release Date Officially Moves From June 25th To September 17th

Yesterday, Sony Pictures announced that they’ve now moved their Venom sequel Venom: Let There Be Carnage from it’s summer release date of June 25th to the fall. The Sony/Marvel movie will be out in theaters on September 17th with Spider-Man: Now Way Home set for December 17th and Jared Leto’s Morbius on January 21st, 2022.

As the title suggests, Venom 2 will feature Woody Harrelson’s Cletus Kasady as the film’s villain as the dangerous murderer is the human host to Carnage. The violent Marvel supervillain will be paired up with Naomie Harris’ Frances Barrison aka Shriek. We’ll see the return of Tom Hardy as Eddie Brock aka Venom and the new addition of The Irishman’s Stephen Graham taking a role as well.

The sequel was directed by Andy Serkis, who shot second unit on Peter Jackson’s Hobbit trilogy and most recently made Mowgli: Legend of The Jungle. It goes without saying that Serkis has a lot of experience with motion-capture and visual effects.

The first Venom installment originally dropped in October and having the release closer to the fall might be a good way for the studio to recoup their costs.

SOURCE: SONY PICTURES

Posted on in Film News

Russo Brothers Say Sony Resisted Casting Tom Holland As ‘Spider-Man’ Due To His Age

During an interview with GQ Magazine to promote Cherry, directors Joe and Anthony Russo talked about originally casting Tom Holland for Captain America: Civil War and while Marvel Studios/Kevin Feige were onboard, Sony Pictures resisted. Apparently, Sony had some serious second thoughts about hiring a real teenager for Spider-Man.

JOE RUSSO: “We talked with Feige at Marvel about Holland and he got excited and then we went to Sony…And they were like, ‘Let’s think about it for a minute.’ We could tell we were meeting resistance from Sony. So we brought [Holland] back, brought him back, brought him back, and we were relentless in our pursuit of jamming him down the throat of the studio who owns this IP. It came down to a fight, yet Sony just kept dragging their feet.”

ANTHONY RUSSO: “Sony’s reservations were: ‘Are we loaning it? Or are we giving it to them to help us reinvent it in a way that adds value for us?’ It was the first time Spider-Man had ever been cast as an actual teenager, right? Which was very important to us; there was a distinct nervousness of casting a kid.”

Spider-Man: No Way Home will be Holland’s fifth and potentially his final film as the actor is aware that could be a possibility despite his openness to reprise the role. Tom has previously stated his Marvel Studios contract has ended and plans to take a break.

HOLLAND: “I really don’t know what the future holds, so I am just savouring every moment, as it could potentially be the last.”

Sony has set the release date for Spider-Man: No Way Home on December 17th, 2021.

SOURCE: GQ MAGAZINE

Posted on in Film News

Tom Holland Says ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ Ends His Current Marvel Contract – Plans To Take A Break

Yesterday, it was announced by Marvel/Sony that the third Spider-Man film will be titled Spider-Man: No Way Home and it’s lead actor Tom Holland has been doing the press tour for his upcoming crime flick Cherry, revealing some interesting plans in an interview with USA Today.

Holland revealed that he plans to take a break and travel (hopefully safety given the pandemic) as he’s currently without a studio contract which means his current Marvel contract has ended with Spider-Man: No Way Home. Mentioning he’d like to take to go skiing as he wasn’t allowed to previous because the danger of injury.

HOLLAND: “I’m going to take a break and travel the world. It’s the first time since I signed on to (Spider-Man: Homecoming) that I don’t have a contract with someone. I might go skiing because that’s something I’ve not really been allowed to do because it’s obviously a dangerous sport. I’ve been very careful over the years, which is why I’ve become obsessed with golf because it’s the only sport I can play without getting injured.”

He reiterated this over at Collider but added he’d be willing to come back whenever they called.

HOLLAND: “[Spider-Man 3] would be my last one [under contract] so I’ve always said to them if they want me back I’ll be there in a heartbeat. I’ve loved every minute of being a part of this amazing world. It’s changed my life for the better, I’m so lucky to be here. If they want me back I’ll be there, if they don’t I will walk off into the sunset a very, very happy person because it’s been an amazing journey.”

“The way I understand it is that agreement between the two studios has already happened. I don’t think that they’re going to run into the same troubles that they did as we were going into… was it ‘Spider-Man 2’? ‘Far from Home’ had come out and then the whole thing happened between Sony and Marvel. I think the two studios have worked that out, and I don’t think that that will be a problem in the future. That said, I’m just the actor and I was a part of a few phone calls during that process, but I think they love working with each other, I think they found a way in which it can be beneficial for both studios, and I’m just kind of like a kid in the middle of it, between two parents during an argument (laughs).”

Given that Tom shot Cherry, Uncharted, and Spider-Man: No Way Out in a short period of time he’s certainly owed some vacation time.

Spider-Man: No Way Home will be released on December 17th.

SOURCE: USA TODAY

Posted on in Film News

‘Spider-Man 3’: Marvel Casting Extras To Play Attorneys & Stenographer For A Courtroom Scene Shooting Next Month

Background casting company CL Casting has revealed on their Facebook page there will be a courtroom scene shot next month in the Atlanta area for Spider-Man 3 aka The November Project. You can see from the posting they are seeking extras to play attorneys and a stenographer with the scene expected to shoot on March 10th.

We pointed out back in December that this courtroom scene could be taking place after it was telegraphed with previous Spider-Man 3 extra casting calls seeking background actors for protesters, detectives, and criminals.

It’s been long expected that Peter Parker would end up needing lawyer in the next film because of the events of Spider-Man: Far From Home as he’s been framed for the murder of Quentin Beck aka Mysterio. However, the simplest and obvious choice for Parker’s legal defense is Tatiana Maslany’s Jennifer Walters aka She-Hulk.

This is mainly because we know that the She-Hulk series for Disney+ begins filming next month in Atlanta, where Spider-Man 3 is already shooting and around when this scene will be shot. Maslany’s casting was announced by Disney/Marvel in December and this means the superhero lawyer is already confirmed/established for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, officially.

While there have been convincing rumors that Charlie Cox will reprise the Matt Murdock role, none of the trades have backed-up the claim or has any photographic/hard evidence that Charlie Cox has been on the set landed online despite talk he’s shot scenes already. Lacking any concrete confirmation Matt Murdock is actually in the superhero sequel, it’s still not entirely settled or a lock that he’ll appear. Sometimes rumors are just rumors, but there is still a good shot he might be in the film and it just hasn’t been made official.

Director Jon Watts is going to be tackling the Fantastic Four reboot next for Marvel Studios and it’s hard to ignore that he might want to include a Marvel character like She-Hulk given her connections to both superhero law and Fantastic Four. Adding Jennifer Walters to Spider-Man 3 allows the new superhero character to debut in a massive feature film (Spider-Man: Far From Home previously earned over a billion dollars at the box office) before the solo She-Hulk series on Disney+ and at the same time potentially plant seeds for Watts’ upcoming Fantastic Four film.

I guess we’ll have to be patient.

Spider-Man 3 will be released on December 17th.

SOURCE: CATRETT-LOCKE CASTING