Sony believed that The Amazing Spider-Man 2 would crack a billion at the box office, and while it still performed well, the tepid response from fans and critics (as well as a haul of only $700 million after huge budget and marketing costs) means that the studio is scrambling for new ideas to freshen up the franchise.
So far, those have included Venom: Carnage from Alex Kurtzman, Drew Goddard’s The Sinister Six and a female led spin-off featuring either one or possibly a team of heroes from Spider-Man’s universe.
The first two listed above (which actually have writers and directors attached) are expected sometime in the next few years, but it’s been a while since we’ve heard about either, so whether they’re happening is unclear.
Fans have been hoping that this would ultimately lead to Spider-Man becoming part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but Sony are clearly determined to hold onto the rights, as the latest rumoured spin-off is perhaps the most surprising and bizarre to date. So, how do you feel about a movie starring Spidey’s Aunt May?
According to a new report from a usually very reliable source, the movie would focus on a young Aunt May before she adopted Peter Parker. The site adds that, “The target mood is some sort of espionage story in the vein of AMC’s Mad Men.” It’s a bizarre idea and not really like any comic book we can think of!
The only series which really explored May’s history was a controversial (and now retconned) 2003 series which revealed that she had a baby with Richard Parker as a teen and gave him up to Mary. Yes, that baby would grow up to be Spider-Man, and yes, it was all as ridiculous and silly as it sounds!
Sony have obviously taken note of the success of Marvel’s Agent Carter, but the number of people interested in a spin-off for Spider-Man’s Aunt could probably be counted on one hand. Further proof that franchise producers Avi Arad and Matt Tolmach have no idea what they’re doing? At this point, it seems so!
