Venom, The Sinister Six Announced

The Amazing Spider-Man universe expands exponentially, with two spin-offs on the way!
Sony Pictures have today announced the production of two spin-off films set in the universe of their superhero franchise The Amazing Spider-Man. Titled Venom and The Sinister Six, the pair of motion pictures will be set after the events of The Amazing Spider-Man 3 and focus exclusively on major antagonists featured in the series.

The former of the pair is a project that's been rumoured for some time now, and with eagle-eyed fans having caught a glimpse of a 'Venom Containing Unit' in the trailer for Spidey's second rebooted instalment, it was only a matter of time before such an outcome came to pass. In its original comic-book incarnation, the latter team of villains included Doctor Octopus, Electro, Sandman, Kraven, Mysterio and Vulture, although future line-ups incorporated the Green Goblin, which could imply that Dane DeHaan's crazed version of the character will be a part of the Sinister Six spin-off too.

As you'd probably expect, Sony aims to even the playing field considerably with the Marvel Cinematic Universe and Fox's intended wider universe set to form in X-Men: Days of Future Past and The Fantastic Four. Alex Kurtzman (Star Trek), Roberto Orci (Now You See Me), Jeff Pinkner (Lost), Ed Solomon (Men In Black) and Drew Goddard (The Cabin in the Woods). Here's what Avi Arad and Tolmach had to say on the matter: "With more than fifty years' wealth of stories in the comic books to draw upon for inspiration, the Spider-Man universe is truly boundless...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."

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 swings into UK cinemas on April 18th, 2014, with The Amazing Spider-Man 3 and The Amazing Spider-Man 4 set to release worldwide on June 10th, 2016 and May 4th, 2018 respectively. Venom and The Sinister Six's launch dates are currently TBC.