Bandwagon Jumpers: Venom & Sinister Six Movies Announced

Sony Announces Expanded Spider-Man Universe with Venom and Sinister Six Films

Sony decided to jump on the shared movie universe bandwagon, announcing this week that they would be releasing two spin-off films in the rebooted Amazing Spider-Man universe, Venom and Sinister Six.  This isn't the first time that Venom has appeared onscreen.  He was one of the villains in the much maligned Spider-Man 3.  Sony has been talking about bringing a solo Venom film to screen since they found out that the re-booted Amazing Spider-Man was a global box office success.  This isn't a huge surprise.  In comic books, Venom is a hero.  The alien symbiote has bonded to Peter Parkers enemy turned friend and former president of the Spider-Man fan club, Flash Thompson, a veteran who lost both legs in the Iraq War.  Flash can only wear the symbiote suit for a brief period of time, to make sure that it doesn't warp him and force him to do not so nice things like eat folks.  So, if Sony decides to go with the current incarnation of Venom, we've got a hero or an antihero, someone that audiences can root for.  

A movie focusing on the Sinister Six is a little more puzzling.  The Sinister Six are a collection of some of Spider-Man's greatest enemies.  They are originally brought together by Doctor Octopus who, sick of being humiliated by Spidey, thinks that his chances of defeating the Wall Crawler will raise if he brings together some likeminded individuals.  The original Sinister Six were Doc Ock, Vulture, Mysterio, Electro, Kraven the Hunter and Sandman.  I don't think that will be the group in the film.  Electro and the Rhino are being introduced in the new film.  In the newly released trailer, we catch a glimpse of Dock Ock's arms and the Vulture's wings.  So, if we just assume that those four will be in the group, who will be the last two?  Could the film introduce us to Kraven and Mysterio?  That would be awesome.  Kraven is a big game hunter who comes to NYC to hunt Spider-Man.  In modern incarnations, Kraven has had his own reality TV show, which I think would translate well to the big screen.  Mysterio's alter ego, Quentin Beck, is a special effects wizard who decides to use his talents and make it big in the crime game.

The problem is who will be the POV character?  Will audiences be able to relate to a film where every character is a villain?  We'll see.  What do you guys think?  Who would be your ideal Sinister Six?  Do you think the Green Goblin will be a member?  Any casting ideas?  Let me know in the comments.

Casting News: She's a Wonder Woman

Fast & Furious Actress, Gal Gadot, cast as Diana Prince in Batman vs. Superman

More casting news is coming out of the sequel to this year's hit, Man of Steel.  After the divisive casting of Ben Affleck as Batman, comes another casting announcement that will probably be just as divisive.  Gal Gado has been cast as Diana Prince aka Wonder Woman in the sequel that people are just calling Batman vs. Superman, even thought that is probably not the actual title of the film.

Gadot is an Israeli fashion model who transitioned to acting.  She doesn't have that much experience.  She played Gisele in the last three Fast & Furious films.  To be fair, she didn't have to do much acting. So, who knows how she'll do playing, arguably, the most iconic female superhero of all time.  It's a daunting task and I don't envy her.  It seems like Warner Bros./DC are using the Superman films as a sort of springboard for their own cohesive universe, like Marvel, so, it would seem that a Wonder Woman solo film, could finally be in the works.

I will say that Gadot certainly looks the part and she proved that she could kick ass in the F&F films, but I'm nervous about the whole acting thing.  I'm an avowed Batfleck defender.  My first post on this blog was a defense of the Oscar winner playing Batman.  I can't really get behind Gadot as Wonder Woman right now.  I'm not going to bash her or say that this is the worst or that it "raped my childhood."  I'm going to take a wait and see approach and just be happy that the Amazing Amazon is finally going to make her way to the big screen.  I mean, if she sucks, the role can always be recast.

So, what do you guys think?  Excited?  Neverous?  Hate it?  Ambivalent?  Let me know in the comments.

Trailer Time: The Amazing Spider-Man 2

The Summer of Marvel continues with the first trailer for the follow-up to Spidey's rebooted adventures.

Next summer is shaping up to be the summer of Marvel and I coudln't be happier.  You've got Captain America, the X-Men, the Guardians of the Galaxy and the most famous of them all, Spider-Man.  Lots of fanboys and girls, myself included, were skeptical.  Is it too soon to reboot?  Honestly, it probably is, but the new movie was pretty amazing.  Andrew Garfield was a great Spidey and the chemistry between him and Emma Stone's, Gwen Stacy, was off the charts.  The second film looks to be bigger, better, and more badass than the first one.  It adds three new villains to the mix:  Jamie Foxx's Electo, Paul Giamatti's The Rhino and The Green Goblin, which could be Dane Dehaan's Harry or Chris Cooper's Norman.  The trailer also gives us a glimpse of Vulture wings and Doc Ock arms.  Could we be setting things up for the Sinister Six in the next film?

Hit the jump to check out the first official trailer for the Spidey sequel.