Information MARVEL'S DEVELOPMENT HELL: Where Super-Powered Projects Go to Die

[Doctor Omega]

Sony’s Spider-Man universe is getting a little bigger.

The studio, already in deep development on villain offshoot Venom, is now developing a feature project centered on the female characters Silver Sable and the Black Cat.


Chris Yost, who worked on the upcoming Marvel movie Thor: Ragnarok, is writing the script, building on a previous version written by Lisa Joy, the co-creator of HBO’s Westworld.

The studio is hoping to go to directors soon with an eye toward a fall start date. Matt Tolmach and Amy Pascal are producing the project, which was previously known as the "secret female spinoff project."

Silver Sable, created by Tom DeFalco and Ron Frenz in 1985, is a mercenary who runs a company that hunts war criminals. The character has been both antagonist and ally to Spider-Man.

Black Cat, an acrobatic cat burglar whose real name is Felicia Hardy, has a long and tangled romantic history with Spider-Man in the comics. The character was cut from scripts for the Sam Raimi Spider-Man trilogy, and a "Felicia Hardy" (played by Felicity Jones) briefly appeared in Amazing Spider-Man 2, though no Black Cat connection was ever made explicit.

Sony has a new and rebooted Spider-Man movie coming this summer, Spider-Man: Homecoming, and the superhero and his universe of characters are seen as a bright spot on a rather meager slate. But the problem with having rights to the character and universe is that, while Spider-Man is the most popular Marvel character, the other standouts tend to be the villains from his rogue’s gallery.

Hence, Sony is developing Venom, based on the popular character who already appeared onscreen in Raimi’s Spider-Man 3 and who has sometimes acted as an antihero in the Marvel comics. The studio has pencilled in an October 2018 release and is meeting directors on the project.

Black Cat is a major supporting character in the Spider-Man universe, though Sable is less known.

(The spinoffs are not offshoots from the upcoming Spider-Man: Homecoming but rather projects spun from the overall franchise and based on Sony's Marvel's Spider-Man universe.)

Yost has deep Marvel ties, having worked on not only two Thor movies, but also having gotten his start writing on Marvel animated series such as Wolverine and the X-Men. He is also known for comic book work on X23, better known as Wolverine’s cloned daughter who is a headliner in the hit Wolverine movie Logan.

 

[Doctor Omega]

“Silver Sable and Black Cat” Scores A Director





Acclaimed filmmaker Gina Prince-Bythewood (“Love and Basketball,” “Beyond the Lights”) has been set to direct “Silver and Black,” Sony’s upcoming “Spider-Man” offshoot centering on characters Silver Sable and the Black Cat.

In the comics, Silver Sable is a mercenary who runs a company that hunts war criminals. Black Cat is an acrobatic cat burglar whose real name is Felicia Hardy, has a long and tangled romantic history with Spider-Man.

“Westworld” co-creator Lisa Joy penned the script with Chris Yost (“Thor: Ragnarok”) coming onboard to work on the most recent draft. Matt Tolmach and Amy Pascal are producing with filming to get underway in the Fall ahead of an October 2018 release.

Like the upcoming “Venom” film, it’s expected that this film will NOT be a part of the Marvel cinematic universe the way July’s “Spider-Man: Homecoming” is.

The project marks Prince-Bythewood’s second Marvel work, she is due to direct the pilot for Freeform’s “Cloak & Dagger” TV series based on the Marvel Comics young heroes.

 

[Doctor Omega]

“Silver & Black” To Launch Female Spider-Verse?





The upcoming “Silver & Black,” Sony’s female superhero film based on the “Spider-Man” comics characters Silver Sable and Black Cat, may be the start of a new cinematic universe.

Sony is planning an “Avengers”-style ensemble movie that would feature only the women of the studio’s burgeoning Spider-Man universe.

The all-female team-up film would include Black Cat and Silver Sable along with Jessica Drew (Spider-Woman), Angelina Brancale (Stunner), Sarah Ehret (Jackpot) and Cassie St. Commons (Dusk).

 

[Doctor Omega]

“Fargo” Helmer Plans A “Doctor Doom” Film




“Fargo” and “Legion” series creator and showrunner Noah Hawley closed out the FX panel at San Diego Comic-Con with a statement that has sent comics fans reeling:

“Because I’m at Comic-Con. I wanted to let you know about a movie I’m developing for Fox. The first word is ‘Doctor.’ And the second is ‘Doom.'”

Nothing else is known about the film at this time beyond it being a solo feature for the “Fantastic Four” villain. Hawley is reportedly developing the feature with an eye toward directing (he has not directed features before).

The character is Victor Von Doom, the tyrannical dictator of Latveria and frequent foil to the Fantastic Four. Comic books fans often cite him as one of the most complex and rich characters in all of comics, but previous attempts at adapting him for the screen by Julian McMahon and Toby Kebbell have been considered disasters.

 

[Doctor Omega]

 

[Doctor Omega]

First cinematic attempt, 1994 (unreleased)

 

[Doctor Omega]

Second cinematic attempt, 2005.....

 

[Doctor Omega]

Third cinematic attempt, 2015

 

[Doctor Omega]

 

[Doctor Omega]

Will the Fantastic Four Be in Fox’s Doctor Doom Movie?





At conclusion of the San Diego Comic Con panel for FX’s Legion, series creator Noah Hawley dropped some unexpected but fantastic news: he’s writing a Doctor Doom movie for 20th Century Fox. The Hollywood Reporter reports he’s even in the running to possibly direct the film. Hawley is a rising star and hot commodity right now, with two critically acclaimed hits on the FX channel, Fargo, based on the Coen Bros. film, and Legion, his visually spectacular, head-trippy immersion into untold facets of FOX’s X-Men universe.


Naturally, Hawley naming dropping Doctor Doom instantly ignites interest in FOX’s moribund Fantastic Four franchise. 2015 was the last time the first family of Marvel Comics graced the big screen. Director Josh Trank’s Fantastic Four, starring Miles Teller, Kate Mara, Jamie Bell, Michael B. Jordan, and Tobey Kebbell was a dismal failure critically, at the box office, and creatively. Trank attempted to meld Marvel’s science fiction superheroes into the body horror genre, but backstage drama during the production led to the film being taken away from Trank and recut by producer Simon Kinberg. The result was ultimately one of the most poorly received superhero films in recent memory, and a death knell for the cinematic Fantastic Four. But that was then, it seems.

In the current Hollywood marketplace for superhero movies, the trend is beginning to lean towards exploring the characters who would traditionally be the antagonists for superheros and making the villains the lead. For years now, DC Films has been developing a feature film about Shazam‘s arch enemy Black Adam starring Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, with Johnson styling the character as an “anti-hero.” Sony Pictures, which just struck gold by forging a deal with Marvel Studios to allow Spider-Man to join the Marvel Cinematic Universe, has set Tom Hardy to star as Spider-Man’s enemy Venom, directed by Ruben Fleischer (Gangster Squad). It’s therefore not surprising, after two different movie versions of the Fantastic Four (both poorly received) that FOX would turn to their nemesis to find another angle into reinvigorating the franchise.


There can be no discussion of a Doctor Doom movie without first addressing the four blue-clad elephants in the room. So the question is, will the Fantastic Four also appear in a movie centering on Doctor Doom as its protagonist? They would kind of have to, otherwise Doom would have no one to fight or even talk to (though Marvel fans know the Doctor Doom character is no stranger to long soliloquies). Thus far, Doom and the Fantastic Four are the only denizens in their corner of the universe, unless Hawley’s film utilizes other Fantastic Four-related characters like the Silver Surfer or Namor the Sub-Mariner, the latter of whom is someone fans are also dying to see on the big screen.

Unlike the mad rush by other studios to launch shared universes, FOX has so far resisted the urge to unify its two major Marvel properties, the Fantastic Four and the X-Men. The X-Men universe is already expansive; besides the core X-Men films that center around James McAvoy as Charles Xavier, Michael Fassbender as Magneto, and Jennifer Lawrence as Mystique, FOX launched multiple other X-Men projects like the R-rated Deadpool films, and television projects like The Gifted and Hawley’s own Legion, which is getting a second season on FX. Meanwhile, while most of their Marvel peers are now getting to play in each others’ sandboxes, the Fantastic Four have been relegated to their own universe closed off from all the other superhero universes. FOX does own the rights to multiple characters ancillary to the Fantastic Four, but they have only exploited the primary four heroes, the Silver Surfer, Galactus, and – of course – Doctor Doom.

 

[Doctor Omega]

Mads Mikkelsen Still Open To “Doctor Doom”





One of the more amusing stories from earlier this year was “Hannibal” and “Doctor Strange” actor Mads Mikkelsen revealing that he had ‘walked out’ of his audition to play the villain Doctor Doom in Josh Trank’s 2015 reboot of “Fantastic Four” for 20th Century Fox.

Speaking with Screen Geek at the recent London Comic Con, the actor wanted to clarify what happened:

“I didn’t walk out. When I left it, I was just like – this is crazy. I don’t even have long arms. What am I doing in here? The audition was only about long arms. No lines. I felt a little funny.”

Since then has come the news that “Fargo” showrunner Noah Hawley is working on a “Doctor Doom” film and Mikkelsen was asked if he’d be open to the idea of trying again:

“Yeah, it’s always interesting. They are experimenting with doing some of the villain’s stories as well. Let’s see if they do that. I’m not familiar that they’ve done it with anyone yet. They haven’t done it with The Joker [and] they haven’t done it with The Penguin. So we’ll see when that day comes.”

Mikkelsen recently wrapped work on the survival tale “Arctic” and is slated to play Mayor Prentiss in the upcoming “Chaos Walking” adaptation. He’s also lending his talents to Hideo Kojima’s much-anticipated video game “Death Stranding”

 

[Doctor Omega]

That Hashtag Show has revealed some new rumors about the “Silver & Black” film which would feature the Spider-Man characters of Silver Sable and Black Cat.

The site claims the storyline sees Black Cat stealing something from Mendel Stromm/Gaunt, an ‘enhancement’ that ties in with bio-experiments he’s been conducting. Silver Sable, the main character, is a bounty hunter who sets out to find Black Cat and in doing so find Gaunt. Together they take on him and his cronies Scorpion and Tarantula.

Gina Prince-Bythewood is attached to direct the film which hasn’t set a release date as yet.

 

[Doctor Omega]

Green Goblin Teased In “Silver & Black”?





While the main “Spider-Man: Homecoming” series at Sony Pictures is trying to put the focus on villains from Spidey’s canon that haven’t been on screen before, the upcoming spin-offs look set to play in a familiar pond.

That Hashtag Show reports that the Green Goblin himself, Norman Osborn, will have a presence in the team-up film “Silver and Black”.

The report suggests he won’t actually appear on-screen, but his voice will be heard and will set up the character for future films. It’s being reportedly done in a way that allows the studio to cast someone in the role at a later date.

Additionally, Osborn Chemical Senior Vice-President Charles Standish will apparently show up in the movie as Norman’s representative. Previously the role of Norman Osborn has been played by both Willem Dafoe and Chris Cooper.

Recent rumors have suggested several baddies from Spider-Man canon will show up to take on the film’s heroines Black Cat and Silver Sable. No word as to when the film will begin production.

 

[Doctor Omega]

Your thoughts on this movie.....

Deadpool (Ryan Reynolds) and Cable (Josh Brolin) lead a band of ruthless mutant warriors.

 

[Doctor Omega]

Your thoughts on this movie.....

While the plot is currently unknown, the Director has said that "the vibe of Gambit has a romantic or sex comedy vibe to it".

 

[Doctor Omega]

 

[chainsaw_metal1]

I love Gambit. He's such a great character. He had a really great limited issue run with Wolverine that was top notch.

I hate Channing Tatum. His face makes me want to punch it.

I'm conflicted.

 

[Doctor Omega]

A New “Red Sonja” Is Being Fast Tracked

The new version will be different, with fresh story ideas and characters. Avi Lerner, Joe Gatta, Mark Canton and Courtney Solomon will produce.

 

[TheSowIsMine]

Again?
I have heard this news for the last 10 years or so and it has never happend.
The 1985 version is a very guilty pleasure of mine. I have seen this film many, many times as a kid and adult :)

 

[Doctor Omega]

“Gambit” Film Changes Its Working Title?



The upcoming “X-Men” spin-off film “Gambit” is reportedly changing its working title.

Going by the name “Chess” during the last two aborted attempts to get production off the ground, the project will now go by the name “Forevermore” according to Omega Underground.

Specific reasons for the title change are unknown, the report suggesting it could be due to “Chess” becoming public over the years.

The current incarnation is currently scouting locations around New Orleans with filming set to begin in early 2018 ahead of a February 2019 release.

It’s not unheard of for Fox either who changed the working title of “Deadpool 2” from “Love Machine” to “Caribbean Blue” before filming began.