AMAZING SPIDEY 3 Pushed to 2018; SINISTER SIX for '16

[AndyDursin]

Mark your calendars guys, I know you will want to!

Probably a good idea for ASM3 seeing as the reception for ASM2 was, well, on the cool side with audiences. I'm sure if they pushed a sequel out right away the audience would not be there. Perhaps SINISTER SIX will get the momentum back, though I find the whole concept of that baffling personally.

http://variety.com/2014/film/news/spide ... 201267269/

ooking to broaden its Spider-Man franchise, Sony has 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.

Sony did not set a specific 2018 date for “The Amazing Spider-Man 3.” It had originally dated “The Amazing Spider-Man 4″ for May 4, 2018, but that’s no longer the plan.

After modest box office results for “The Amazing Spider-Man 2,” the studio thinks “Sinister Six” will expand the Spider-Man universe by bringing in villains, making Sony a stronger competitor against the likes of Disney/Marvel’s “Avengers” and WB’s 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.”

Sony made the announcements Wednesday on the opening day of Comic-Con. The studio first revealed the “Sinister Six” and “Venom” spinoff projects in December, including Drew Goddard’s attachment as a writer with an eye to direct. Avi Arad and Matt Tolmach are producing “Sinister Six.”

“Uncharted,” based on the PlayStation videogame series, follows the adventures of treasure hunter Nathan Drake. Seth Gordon will direct from a David Guggenheim script. The film will be an Arad/Atlas Entertainment Production, produced by Charles Roven, Avi Arad, Alex Gartner and Ari Arad.

“With ‘Sinister Six’ in the hands of writer-director Drew Goddard, we feel extremely confident placing the film on a prime date in 2016,” said Doug Belgrad, president, Sony Pictures Entertainment Motion Picture Group.

The “Sinister Six” super-villains first appeared in 1964 and were drawn from Spider-Man’s list of enemies. Led by Doctor Octopus, they included Electro, Kraven the Hunter, Mysterio, Sandman and the Vulture.

Electro was introduced in “The Amazing Spider-Man 2″ with Jamie Foxx portraying the villain.

“The Amazing Spider-Man 2″ performed respectably with over $700 million in worldwide box office. The five “Spider-Man” films have grossed nearly $4 billion, led by 2002′s “Spider-Man” with $821 million.

[DavidBanner]

Stories are beginning to appear about how much damage all these big budget disappointments have done to Sony. The latest casualty is Jeff Blake, who got tossed out apparently as a result of Sony's poor performance this summer, including the under-performing and over-spent Amazing Spiderman 2 and the new bomb of Sex Tape. Nikki Finke is having a field day yelling "Toldja!" on her own site, with a first part that covers all the wipeouts of last year and a second part coming that will likely get into how Sony reacted internally to ASM2 not even breaking even. Some of Finke's article is driven by her personal affection for Blake and her hatred for Amy Pascal, but it's still an interesting read.

Apparently, Sony resolved to stop making these giant elephants over a year ago, and here they are making more of them. If this keeps up, I wouldn't be surprised to see more heads rolling, or to see the studio become a giant negative for the larger corporation.

[AndyDursin]

I've wondered if Sony would ever dump Columbia. It's not like the studio doesn't have a history of having been owned by a huge corporation that lost money on it in the past!