Sony to Expand the Spider-Man Universe - Blu-ray.com

Sony Pictures has announced that it plans to develop several new projects in the Spider-Man franchise in association with Marvel Entertainment. Sony has approached five writers for these upcoming projects: Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci, Jeff Pinkner, Ed Solomon, and Drew Goddard. Avi Arad and Matt Tolmach will produce them. Kurtzman, Orci, and Pinkner are already writing the screenplay for The Amazing Spider Man 3, which is currently set to arrive in U.S. theaters on June 10, 2016. Kurtzman, Orci, and Solomon will also work on the screenplay for Venom, which Kurtzman will direct. Goddard will also write, with an eye to direct, The Sinister Six, focusing on the villains in the franchise. Following the official announcement Doug Belgrad, president of Columbia Pictures said: "The Spider-Man film franchise is one of our studio's greatest assets. We are thrilled with the creative team we have assembled to delve more deeply into the world that Marc, Avi and Matt have begun to explore in The Amazing Spider-Man and The Amazing Spider-Man 2. We believe that Marc, Alex, and Drew have uniquely exciting visions for how to expand the Spider-Man universe in each of these upcoming films." Arad and Tolmach also commented: "This collaboration was born out of the great experience we and Marc had working with Alex, Bob, and Jeff on The Amazing Spider-Man 2. With more than fifty years' wealth of stories in the comic books to draw upon for inspiration, the Spider-Man universe is truly boundless; in addition, the Spider-Man comics have the greatest rogues gallery of any series, and to have the chance to explore that on film is truly thrilling. Until now, we have approached each film as a separate, self-contained entity, but with this move, we have the opportunity to grow the franchise by looking to the future as we develop a continuous arc for the story. That is what Alex, Bob, Jeff, Ed, and Drew will do in this unprecedented collaboration, and we're excited about the directions they are taking the character and the world."