Sony Pushes ‘Amazing Spider-Man 3’ Back to 2018, Gives 2016 Release to Villain Spinoff ‘Sinister Six’

When I head Sony was going to make a Spider-Man spinoff all about the villains, I thought it was a fantastic idea. And that was before the disappointing Amazing Spider-Man 2 hit theaters.

Now a Sinister Six movie isn't just a good idea. It's an essential idea if Sony wants to revive the fading franchise. It's a way for the studio to do something that's never been done before—a superhero movie entirely devoted to bad guys—and possibly breath some fresh life into a very stale property.

That's why it makes total sense that they'd push The Amazing Spider-Man 3 back from June 2016 to 2018 and give The Sinister Six a November 11, 2016 release date. Give Spidey some time to recuperate. Give people something new. Then come back in 2018 and hope to recapture the magic.

Of course, all that hinges on The Sinister Six being good. But with Drew Goddard of Lost, Cloverfield, and World War Z fame writing and directing, Sony is pretty confident.

"With Sinister Six in the hands of writer-director Drew Goddard," said Sony prez Doug Belgrad, "we feel extremely confident placing the film on a prime date in 2016."

Hopefully Mr. Belgrad is right. Spider-Man deserves better than the last two films. Way better.

[via]