The Sony side of the Marvel universe has become a fascinating thing to watch in recent months. Diving deep into the Spider-Man lore, the upcoming cinematic universe will focus heavily on side characters like Eddie Brock and Felicia Hardy to create a new brand of Marvel films that don't necessarily concentrate on the Web Head himself. Now it looks like Sony may also be developing a solo film for the street-level hero Nightwatch, and the studio may be looking at Do the Right Thing director Spike Lee to bring the project to life.
Coming off of the heels of the recently announced Venom film and the Black Cat/Silver Sable team-up movie, it looks like Sony may be adding to the heroic side of its Marvel roster by introducing Kevin "Nightwatch" Trench in a film written by Now You See Me screenwriter Edward Ricourt. Not only that, but other rumors also suggest that Sony wants Spike Lee to step behind the camera to take on the character and bring him to life for the very first time. No official announcement has been made yet, so all we really have to work with at the moment are the rumors.
Although Meet the Movie Press' possible reveal of Spike Lee as a Nightwatch director has not received a confirmation yet, it's worth mentioning that he seems like a director who could tackle this type of source material. Lee is no stranger to diving into the topic of race, and the fact that Kevin Trench is a black superhero could help establish some racial diversity (which has been proven to translate into box office numbers) in the Sony Spider-Man universe. With other franchises like the DCEU and the MCU similarly introducing black superheroes like Cyborg and Black Panther, this project (and the possible filmmaker poised to take it on) represents an opportunity to move away from the arguably monochromatic nature of the last generation of superhero films.
That said, the rumor of Spike Lee taking on a Nightwatch movie also seems to have come out of nowhere. He is certainly an iconic filmmaker, and he has made some classic films over the course of his career, but a movie like Nightwatch feels incredibly different from most other projects that he has tackled over the years. He is not necessarily known for working in the blockbuster realm, so if he does end up taking on the Nightwatch movie, it could be Spike Lee like we have never seen him before.
For those of you who are less familiar with the character, Nightwatch is a technologically-enhanced superhero with a strong connection to the Spider-Man lore. Real name Kevin Trench, he becomes the comic book badass when he finds an older version of himself dead in an alleyway and steals the costume -- essentially turning his existence into Terminator-esque predestination paradox. With Spidey shared between Sony and the Marvel Cinematic Universe, someone like Nightwatch could help pad the Sony SpiderVerse with a brand new hero who is a far cry from Peter Parker.
At this point, we will have to wait and see if Spike Lee is actually in the running for this Nightwatch film. As for the future of Sony's Spider-Man universe, Venom will debut in theaters next fall on October 5, 2018.
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