Attendees dressed as Marvel's Captain Spidey, left, Spiderman, center, and Silk take a break during the D23 Expo 2015 in Anaheim, California, U.S., on Friday, Aug. 14, 2015. (Photo : Patrick T. Fallon/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Sony is looking at expanding the "Spider-Man" movie universe by creating a spinoff focusing on female characters Silver Sable and Black Cat. According to reports, the studio is tapping Chris Yost, who helmed the "Thor: Ragnarok" script, to pen the script for the said "Spider-Man" spinoff.
Yost will be building on the previous script written by Lisa Joy, co-creator of HBO series "Westworld," The Hollywood Reporter reported. The news follows Sony's announcement that it is working on a "Spider-Man" spinoff centered on the villain Venom, which is expected to hit theaters on Oct. 5.
For Silver Sable and Black Cat's spinoff movie, Sony is scouting for directors to take the reins on the project and with an expected fall start date for filming. Matt Tolmach and Amy Pascal are producing the "Spider-Man" spinoff.
Silver Sable is a mercenary who runs a group that hunts down war criminals. The character has been both an antagonist and ally to Spider-Man in the comics. Black Cat, on the other hand, is a burglar skilled in acrobatics. Black Cat and Spider-Man has a long romantic history in the comics.
Black Cat was originally included in the initial scripts in Sam Raimi's "Spider-Man" trilogy, but the character did not make it to the final cut of the films. Felicity Hardy, Black Cat's real name, made a brief appearance in "Amazing Spider-Man 2" and was played by Felicity Jones. However, no reference to Black Cat was made in the movie. While Black Cat is a major supporting character in the "Spider-Man" comics, her involvement in Sony/Marvel's "Spider-Man: Homecoming" has yet been revealed.
Aside from the "Spider-Man" spinoffs for Venom and Silver Sable and Black Cat, Sony has also planned a spinoff for Sinister Six. The Venom spinoff script will be written by "Edge of Tomorrow" writer Dante Harper, Gamespot reported. "The Mummy" reboot filmmaker Alex Kurtzman will direct the "Venom" spinoff.
There is no word yet if the spinoff movies will be connected to this year's "Spider-Man: Homecoming" and whether Tom Holland will appear as Spider-Man/Peter Parker in the spinoffs. Meanwhile, a sequel for "Spider-Man: Homecoming" is already confirmed to be in development.
