Sony had a lot of plans for their "Spider-Man" franchise before they dropped it all and made a deal with Marvel that forced them to reboot the series. One of those plans is said to be a film about a female superhero many believe to be Spider-Woman or Black Cat. A new report hints that it might be Spider-Gwen, and that the project may still move forward.
For those unfamiliar with the character, Spider-Gwen comes from a short "what-if" series of the comic books wherein Gwen Stacy is bitten by the radioactive spider and Peter Parker is the one who dies. It was meant to be a short mini-series but Spider-Gwen proved so popular that she is getting her own series.
According to a report from Bleeding Cool, Marvel CEO Isaac Perlmutter green lit the decision to give Spider-Gwen her own comic series. The report also cites an e-mail written by writer Lisa Joy to Sony executive Rachel O'Conner posted on Wikileaks. The e-mail hints that there may be plans to bring Gwen Stacy back in the films, possibly as Spider-Woman.
The report cites that Perlmutter has, on occasion, spoken against the trend of female-centered superhero movies but he did sign off on a "Captain Marvel" film that will focus on Carol Danvers. This gives some credibility to the possibility that he could have Kevin Feige, president of Marvel Studios, develop a "Spider-Gwen" film with Sony Pictures.
However, according to a report from Cinema Blend, the main difficulty might not be about the character's marketability but the studio rights. It is unclear if Spider-Gwen is owned by Sony Pictures as she is a part of the "Spider-Man" universe or if she falls under the general Marvel universe which would mean she is owned by Marvel Studios.
However, Marvel Studios and Sony Pictures are said to be currently collaborating so any issue regarding the rights for Spider-Gwen, presumably, wouldn't be too much of a problem, especially if another female superhero film such as "Captain Marvel" or DC and Warner Bros.' "Wonder Woman" prove to be a financial success.
