If you’re waiting for Sony to give up the rights to “Spider-Man” so Marvel can reboot the character and drop him into the same continuity as “The Avengers,” you may want to take up a time-consuming hobby, because it’s going to be a while.
“The Amazing Spider-Man 2” is set for release on May 2, 2014, but Sony must already be feeling fairly confident about what they’re seeing, because they put out a press release today to announce that they are setting dates for two additional sequels. On June 10, 2016, they’ll release the third film in the series, and on May 4, 2018, they’ll release the fourth.
That means that, barring some unexpected massive failure, this version of the Spider-Man story is going to last at least one more film than Raimi’s version did, which makes me sad. I wasn’t crazy about the first film, and more than anything, I’m just frustrated by my reaction. I love the character, and I want to love movies about him.
This first sequel is starting to look like it’s jam-packed with bad guys. Jamie Foxx is Electro, Paul Giamatti is The Rhino, and Chris Cooper and Dane DeHaan are playing Norman and Harry Osborne. If they already know they’re making two more sequels, I’m a little surprised they’re throwing so many opponents at Spider-Man in one film. Then again, what if they have a game plan and they’re laying the groundwork for a Sinister Six film?
Sony may not own enough superheroes to do their own “Avengers” style event with heroes, so why not go the other direction? Why not do a massive team-up movie, but have it be the villains who are teaming up and not the heroes?
So far, the sequel’s been under a fairly heavy degree of scrutiny during their on-location shoot, and I’m doing my best to avoid seeing any more of them after seeing what feels like a pretty massive spoiler. Even though I didn’t really like the first film, I’m going to hold out hope that the sequel ends up winning me over.
After all, if we’re going to be seeing Spider-Man films with this cast through at least 2018, I’d rather be excited about the films than dreading their release.
“The Amazing Spider-Man 2” opens May 2, 2014.