While "The Amazing Spider-Man 2" was a financial success, it was not able to succeed in the critical review department, securing a rating of only 53 percent of 257 votes in Rotten Tomatoes. In addition, fans were outraged when Gwen Stacy (Emma Stone) was killed off early in the rebooted franchise, which no doubt would have forced Sony Entertainment to contemplate whether or not they want to proceed making a third film.
Back in 2013, Sony already announced a sequel to the film slated for a June 10, 2016 release. However, in late July 2014, the company announced that "The Amazing Spider-Man 3" will be delayed to an unspecified date in 2018.
It has also been rumored that Andrew Garfield would be replaced by Tobey Maguire in "The Amazing Spider-Man 3." The information was leaked, thanks to the infamous "Sony Hack." With the influx of rumors rushing in stating that the next sequel will either be released in 2016 or 2018, it can be concluded that Sony itself has not figured out a way on how to go about the storyline, although in 2014, director Marc Webb managed to tell Entertainment Weekly that the third film's plot will focus on Peter Parker and how he attempts to overcome his lover's death. He also revealed that Norman Osborn will be a part of "The Amazing Spider-Man 3."
Conversely, it has been rumored that the "Sinister Six" movie will be released in the same year as the third "The Amazing Spider-Man" film, which rekindled the rumors about the earlier 2016 release date. "Sinister Six" will be focusing on six of the web slinger's archnemeses, namely Doctor Octopus, Vulture, Electro, Kraven the Hunter, Mysterio and Sandman. It can be assumed that Doctor Octopus will be the mastermind behind the plot of the film, since he is the only character that possesses an intellect that is far above the remainder of the squad.
