CULVER CITY, Calif., Dec. 13 (UPI)–Hollywood’s Sony Pictures Entertainment and Marvel Entertainment say they are developing several new projects in the Spider-Man franchise.
Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci, Jeff Pinkner, Ed Solomon and Drew Goddard have been hired to collaborate on overseeing the developing story through several films to be produced by Avi Arad and Matt Tolmach.
The announcement was made Thursday by Doug Belgrad, president of Columbia Pictures, and Hannah Minghella, president of production for the studio.
The five writers, along with the two producers and director Marc Webb, have formed “a franchise brain trust to expand the universe for the brand and to develop a continuous tone and thread throughout the films,” Sony said in a release.
Kurtzman, Orci and Pinkner are writing the screenplay for “The Amazing Spider-Man 3,” which the studio said it hopes Webb will return to direct. The film is to go into production next fall for release June 10, 2016.
Kurtzman, Orci and Solomon will write the screenplay for “Venom,” which Kurtzman will direct.
Goddard will write, with an eye to direct, “The Sinister Six,” focusing on the villains in the Spider-Man universe. Minghella and Rachel O’Connor will oversee the development and production of these films for the studio.
“The Spider-Man film franchise is one of our studio’s greatest assets,” Belgrad said in a statement. “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 said a joint statement: “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 50 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.”
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.