Sony Spider-Verse discussion thread

[Allyn Gibson]

So, honest opinion: Did this film feel like it got hacked to bits in the editing room, or was there just not enough of a story there to begin with?

Pajiba's review says the film feels decently constructed for the first half hour and then the rest of it feels like it was chopped to pieces in the editing room:

The fact that the first act is almost clinically precise and the fact that the rest of the movie spins wholly off the rails is probably due to the same root cause: Somebody (Sony) obviously played Jenga with Morbius during the edit, sliding out chunks of plot and hoping the overall structure wouldn’t crumble. I know it happened because the actors have talked about scenes that wound up on the cutting room floor during interviews for the movie, but that’s not unusual. It’s also not usual for early trailers for a movie to feature a shot or two that doesn’t make the final cut. You know what is unusual? A trailer that features at least TEN scenes that aren’t in the movie. I counted!

Edited to add:

I don't understand this fascination they have with the Sinister Six, did they see "Guardians of the Galaxy" and say "WE WANT ONE!"?

I've never really understood the thinking on the Sinister Six movie(s). Is Sony thinking a Suicide Squad/Dirty Dozen anti-heroes kind of thing? Maybe they're just enamored of the name "Sinister Six" and want to hang something on it. Maybe, if they're bold, they could do a super-hero film told entirely from the villain's perspective -- let's actually see Spider-Man as the villain of the piece -- but I don't think Sony's actually that bold, nor do I think audiences would be receptive to that. I don't know.

 

[The Nth Doctor]

Damn. Ten scenes from the trailer that aren't in the final film? That's definitely a red flag.

It really feels like Sony has learned nothing.

 

[Christopher]

I don't understand how studios can have so many decades of filmmaking experience behind them, yet still not realize that hacking a film down to incoherence in editing just won't work. By now, there should be some kind of a manual for what not to do when making movies. And not a manual for filmmakers -- a manual for studio execs who think their accounting or business experience qualifies them to dictate creative decisions.

 

[StCoop]

Apparently they only spent $75M on it*, which wouldn't even pay for a third of a MCU movie. And it shows in the CGI, which is better than you get in a CW show but not by much.

*So it doesn't even need to pull in $200M to get a sequel. Hooray?

 

[Samurai8472]

Yeesh, at least Fant4Stic has company now.

Was that the last time we had a truly stinker of a superhero movie?

I just hope Daniel Espinosa the director won't go on a drug fulled twitter rant next.. It's also hilarious how we go from the best Marvel Spider-man movie so far to Sony's own makings

 

[Saul]

So, honest opinion: Did this film feel like it got hacked to bits in the editing room, or was there just not enough of a story there to begin with?

It felt like there wasn't enough story to begin with. It doesn't try to be anything more than a below average origin story with all the tropes. It's a 1 hour 44 minute movie and by the end of it I felt like nothing really happened. It's the kind of movie to put you to sleep. It's quite possible it was hacked to bits because there are scenes from trailers with Keaton that aren't in the movie at all so I wonder if he had a slightly larger role than what we ultimately got. But hacked to bits or not I couldn't find anything here that would redeem the movie. I think everyone involved in making it should never be allowed to touch another marvel property.

I don't understand this fascination they have with the Sinister Six, did they see "Guardians of the Galaxy" and say "WE WANT ONE!"?

They saw 'Avengers' and thought "what group of comic book characters do we have?! Sinister Six? That'll do!".

 

[Caretaker]

Yikes, yeah definitely not seeing this in theaters.

I still plan to see it, but I read somewhere that it wasn't filmed in IMAX so I'll just go to a regular screening. But I have a Regal Unlimited pass, so it will cost me nothing, ticketwise.

It's a shame Sony's deal with Marvel doesn't have a malfeasance clause in which the rights revert back to Marvel if Sony totally and completely botches thing. Seriously, do they have no one at Sony who understands anything about the Spider-Man characters? No one there serving as their own Kevin Feige?

 

[ichab]

After Amazing Spiderman 2 I've made it a point to avoid Sony's Spider-verse. They've been interfering with the creative process since Spiderman 3 and the result has been subpar or crap movies. I'll catch them on streaming if they are available, but I refuse to go to a theater to watch them. They clearly don't know how to handle this franchise and would be better off selling the rights back to Marvel.

 

[The Nth Doctor]

After Amazing Spiderman 2 I've made it a point to avoid Sony's Spider-verse. They've been interfering with the creative process since Spiderman 3 and the result has been subpar or crap movies. I'll catch them on streaming if they are available, but I refuse to go to a theater to watch them. They clearly don't know how to handle this franchise and would be better off selling the rights back to Marvel.

The crazy thing is, while their track record for the live action has been absolute shit, Into the Spider-Verse is pitch perfect in every way. So why the sharp contrast between the two? Do Sony executives hold the archaic belief that animated productions are "lesser" and decided meddling wasn't worth their time?

 

[Christopher]

The crazy thing is, while their track record for the live action has been absolute shit, Into the Spider-Verse is pitch perfect in every way. So why the sharp contrast between the two? Do Sony executives hold the archaic belief that animated productions are "lesser" and decided meddling wasn't worth their time?

Sony Pictures Animation is a distinct studio from Columbia Pictures, which makes the Spider-Man Universe films. They're separate production divisions under the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, with their own separate staffs.

 

[Nightowl1701]

It's a shame Sony's deal with Marvel doesn't have a malfeasance clause in which the rights revert back to Marvel if Sony totally and completely botches thing. Seriously, do they have no one at Sony who understands anything about the Spider-Man characters? No one there serving as their own Kevin Feige?

Well, last time something like this happened, the offending studio ended up swallowed whole and dismantled. That a good enough clause? Of course, it’ll take a FAR more expensive bomb than Morbius is shaping up to be for that to happen. Or a whole set of them.

 

[The Nth Doctor]

Sony Pictures Animation is a distinct studio from Columbia Pictures, which makes the Spider-Man Universe films. They're separate production divisions under the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, with their own separate staffs.

Ah, fair enough. Thank you for that clarification. Makes much more sense now!

 

[Samurai8472]

Well, last time something like this happened, the offending studio ended up swallowed whole and dismantled. That a good enough clause? Of course, it’ll take a FAR more expensive bomb than Morbius is shaping up to be for that to happen. Or a whole set of them.

Let's see how Kraven does and how much studio interference messes that up.

 

[theenglish]

I despise Sony's focus on Spider-Verse Villain Movies. Presumably they have the rights to other Spider-Verse heroes so why not use them instead?

EDIT: No Way Home sets up a May Parker series perfectly. Peter's injuries limit his abilities as Spider-Man and May takes over. That would be a franchise I would enjoy watching.

 

[Christopher]

I despise Sony's focus on Spider-Verse Villain Movies. Presumably they have the rights to other Spider-Verse heroes so why not use them instead?

Maybe it's what someone alluded to above, that they're trying to build up to a Sinister Six movie?

 

[Allyn Gibson]

I despise Sony's focus on Spider-Verse Villain Movies. Presumably they have the rights to other Spider-Verse heroes so why not use them instead?

I've looked through the leaked list of characters from the Sony hack, and most of the super-heroic characters are Spider-Man-like characters in one form or another. Silver Sable is a notable exception. Alpha doesn't appear on the list, though the leaked list predates his creation.

One interesting, though very obscure, character on the list is Kid-Ock. He's a high school student who idolized Doc Ock to the point where he built his own extensible legs. Then he goes out to test them, attacks a security guard at a bank, Spider-Man intervenes thinking it's Doc Ock, and it all ends happily -- the security guard is fine, Kid-Ock wasn't trying to do bad, and Spider-Man talks him down. He then rejiggers his extensible arms and starts calling himself Spider-Kid, wants to be Spider-Man's sidekick, and even creates his own super-team, the Misfits. (Sony has the rights to the Misfits, but not the other members of the Misfits -- Frog-Man and Toad.) Eventually, he builds what's effectively Iron Spider armor on his own and calls himself Steel Spider. I can see building a movie around this character.

Looking at the list, Sony really could do something non-super-hero with their rights. There are so many Daily Bugle characters that I think taking a shot at doing a Bugle-based newspaper/New Media film, set in a super-hero universe, would be worth taking the shot. There's also enough NYPD personnel and criminals that Sony could make a modestly budgeted Spider-Verse crime film every other year or so just to hold the rights.

 

[JD]

One thing we can say about Sony is that they're starting to make DC's treatment of their superhero franchise look competent.
I actually did like the first Venom movie, it wasn't as good as any of the MCU movies or the last few DC movies, but I enjoyed it. I haven't seen the second one yet, but I am starting to wonder if the first one might have just a fluke, and Morbius is more of what of what to expect from Sony.

 

[fireproof78]

No one there serving as their own Kevin Feige?

No caretaker, as it where?

Apparently not. Though, also creating a decidingly horror style film with the Marvel brand is extremely off putting. My wife, who is on a huge Marvel kick right now, flat out said she won't be watching this or anything with Venom.

 

[Turtletrekker]

Maybe Avi Arad? (God help us)

 

[Christopher]

Looking at the list, Sony really could do something non-super-hero with their rights.

I've been saying all along, you could do a glamorous heist movie with Black Cat, an international intrigue thriller with Silver Sable, straight-up horror with Morbius and Venom, etc. They don't have to limit it to superhero stories.

There are so many Daily Bugle characters that I think taking a shot at doing a Bugle-based newspaper/New Media film, set in a super-hero universe, would be worth taking the shot.

I'd be game for a movie centering on Jonah, Robbie, and the Bugle staff (although does Sony have any sort of shared rights to the Ben Urich character?).

There's also enough NYPD personnel and criminals that Sony could make a modestly budgeted Spider-Verse crime film every other year or so just to hold the rights.

Maybe a cop thriller called The Sin-Eater, centering on Jean deWolff?