While Sony’s aggressive plans to build their cinematic universe have been put on hold somewhat (both Morbius and Venom: Let There Be Carnage moved to 2021 due to the Coronavirus), the studio has continued to search for new avenues in developing a Spider-Man universe. Sony has greenlit several spin-offs in the Spider-Man universe, including a reported Kraven the Hunter film that is being developed. Continuing their aggressive plans, Sony has now greenlit a Jackpot spin-off.
According to Deadline, Jackpot is being developed at Sony, with DC CW Writer Marc Guggenheim being selected to pen the screenplay (contributed scripts for Arrow, Supergirl, and DC’s Legends of Tomorrow). For those of you who are unaware of Jackpot’s origins, here’s a breakdown of her background:
“A superheroine with exceptional strength, with her history in the comics being a complicated one. First incarnation was Sara Ehret, a scientist, who, while pregnant, is doing gene therapy research and is exposed to ‘Lot 777,’ a virus that rewrote the DNA in her cells. Her baby is born healthy but she realizes in addition to being a new mom she has superhuman strength after she is forced to save her family.”
I admire Sony’s confidence in Spider-Man’s deep comic book history, greenlighting projects for several characters who have yet to appear in any live-action project. It’s clear that the studio has done their homework from a planning perspective, taking a page out of Kevin Feige’s playbook by developing multiple projects simultaneously.
That being said, Sony is certainly taking a risk with projects like Jackpot, banking on characters that have little mainstream recognition to become superhero staples. If executed well, Sony could have its own cinematic universe on hand, but they could just as easily follow the footsteps of the failed Universal Monster Universe and DC Extended Universe.
Are you excited about Jackpot? Let us know in the comments!