Sony has told Spider-Man fans that a Sinister Six movie is coming. Heck, we even know that Cabin in the Woods director Drew Goddard will helm the spinoff film. But before you go assuming which classic members of Spider-Man’s rogues gallery will be front and center in the Sinister Six movie, consider the recent comments of The Amazing Spider-Man producer Matt Tolmach.
The producer was speaking with IGN ahead of The Amazing Spider-Man 2 opening in the UK, and he cautioned that the traditional Sinister Six lineup isn’t Gospel. Said Tolmach:
"Nothing is sacred. I mean it’s going to be the best Six that you can imagine, but it’s going to make sense in the world that we’re building."
Anyone paying attention to the trailers for The Amazing Spider-Man 2 knows that Doctor Octopus and The Vulture were hinted at in the confines of Oscorp:
Who else likely will be on the roster? Electro (Jamie Foxx), the Rhino (Paul Giamatti) and a Goblin or two (Dane DeHaan and Chris Cooper) could make up the complete Six. If Goddard only goes with one of the Goblins who so far are on the periphery of this franchise, then one slot could be filled by Rhys Ifans’ Lizard – who was left alive at the end of Marc Webb’s original The Amazing Spider-Man -- or a sixth villain to be named later.
Introduced in 1964, the first iteration of the Sinister Six consisted of such villains as Mysterio, Kraven the Hunter and Sandman. Sam Raimi made good use of Sandman in his Spider-Man 3, though I don’t see the character coming into Webb’s new universe.
The sixth selection likely will be Venom, who also is slated for his own standalone movie and could transition into Sinister Six if he proves to have as strong a following as Sony believes.
On the same promotional trail, Spider-Man producer Avi Arad went into great detail about the changes they will have to make to the Sinister Six characters on screen, saying:
"When you translate comic to film the word 'classic' means the first fifty issues. Because after that we all made changes; changes that had to do with science-fiction turning into science. I think just the need to move this world forward.So, of course we'll make adaptations about these guys and what was their motivations because many of them have multiple motivations. It depends, is it ultimate Spider-Man? Is it Spider-Man? Is it some three-piece issue that takes them to space? We have a bigger responsibility to represent the character of the villain as it was conceived, because that way it will survive the test of time. All the rest... that's a movie. What an opportunity to make -- can you imagine seeing Paul Giamatti in a leather suit? I think they would have killed us. They gave us a hard time with the Lizard."
You can’t please people. Sony will try, however. The Sinister Six is coming to theaters in a few years. In the meantime, catch The Amazing Spider-Man 2 in theaters on May 2.
