Sony will be bringing "Venom" and "The Sinister Six" to cinemas in separate screen adaptations.
The films will reportedly be companion pieces to the current "Spider-Man" movies that the studio is releasing. According to Variety, writers Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci, Jeff Pinkner, Ed Solomon, and Drew Goddard are expected to collaborate on the story development over a number of films that will be produced by Avi Arad and Matt Tolmach; director Marc Webb was also reportedly involved in the process though he will not be directing any of the new additions to the franchise films.
"This collaboration was born out of the great experience we and Marc had working with Alex, Bob, and Jeff on 'The Amazing Spider-Man 2,'" Arad and Tolmach said, according to Variety.com. "With more than 50 years' wealth of stories in the comic books to draw upon for inspiration, the Spider-Man universe is truly boundless; in addition, the Spider-Man comics have the greatest rogues gallery of any series, and to have the chance to explore that on film is truly thrilling."
Kurtzman is expected to direct "Venom" from a script he is working on with Orci and Solomon. Meanwhile, Goddard will write and direct "The Sinister Six" film.
Webb directed the 2012 film "The Amazing Spider-Man" and is working on "The Amazing Spider-Man 2," which will be released in cinemas in May 2014. The third and fourth installments in the new franchise are slated for releases in 2016 and 2018.
The decision mirrors the same model that Disney is utilizing for its Marvel superheroes. Disney has created a number of films that allow their individual superheroes to engage in their own personal storylines before bringing them together in more inclusive films like "The Avengers." It is likely that this will be how the "Sinister Six" and "Venom" movies will interact with "The Amazing Spider-Man" flicks.