New information has surfaced about one of the more unique spin-offs from the Spider-Man film series, years after its initial development.
While speaking on the Happy, Sad, Confused podcast, Drew Goddard provided additional insights into his planned Sinister Six film, which he had written and was slated to direct for Sony Pictures. This project was to be set within the Spider-Man universe of Andrew Garfield, directed by Marc Webb.
Goddard confirmed that the screenplay was ready and that pre-production was well underway. He shared, “Oh yeah, we were in prep. We were in deep prep, I had a whole art department” and mentioned that Martin Whist was “my production designer who worked with me on Cabin, on [The] Cabin [in the Woods], on Bad Times [at the El Royale], on Cloverfield. We had a full team set up at the Sony lot, and it was very much a Drew-style Spider-Man movie.”
He elaborated, “I mean, we were really aiming high, we were going all in,” in terms of the standards they were setting for this Marvel property. Goddard mentioned that the film was envisioned as a heist movie but explained, “I thought of it more as a summer annual, which, if you’re familiar with comics, especially back when I was developing this, I felt like comics had become very serialized. The movies were becoming about ‘getting one jewel after another to lead up to something big,’ and it was working well.”
Goddard added, “What I loved about the summer annuals in comics was that aside from the ongoing serialized story, every summer you’d get a giant issue that was unrelated, where the hero is pulled from their regular life into a crazy scenario. That’s what I wanted to do with Spider-Man.” Ultimately, he said, “I thought it would be fun, so we went for it. We threw in everything I love about Spider-Man.”
Unfortunately, the Sinister Six project was canceled after the major Sony hack in 2014, and Andrew Garfield’s Spider-Man series did not continue following The Amazing Spider-Man 2.
Could a Sinister Movie Have Been Successful?
In the same interview, Goddard expressed, “As you can imagine, one of the thrilling parts of any Sinister Six story is choosing who the six will be. And, oh my god, that alone, when you ask if I’m sad? I’m definitely sad I didn’t get to make the film, but at least I got to make it in my mind. It’s just a pity nobody else got to see it,” raising questions about whether a Sinister Six movie could have succeeded in the comic book film industry at that time. Given that films centered around villains were not common in Hollywood then, it would have been a gamble, but it could have potentially stood out with its unique approach.
The closest Sony has come to realizing a Sinister Six film was with Spider-Man: No Way Home, in which villains like Green Goblin, Doctor Octopus, and Sandman from Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man series, along with Electro and Lizard from Andrew Garfield’s films, converged in a significant crossover as part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Although it featured more of a Sinister Five than Six, it advanced much further than any other attempt within Sony’s Spider-Man Universe, following the introduction in Morbius.
Ava Thornton is an entertainment journalist with a keen eye for the latest in Hollywood, indie films, and streaming trends.
Her work blends insider knowledge with a deep appreciation for storytelling.
