In yet another blow to their misguided attempt to launch a ‘Spider-Man cinematic universe without Spider-Man’, Sony’s Silk: Spider Society will no longer be moving forward at Amazon.
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This admittedly unsurprising development regarding the female wall-crawler’s solo series was first brought to light on May 16th courtesy of Deadline‘s Nellie Andreeva.
Relaying information provided to her by insider sources, Andreeva revealed was Cindy Moon no longer set to sling webs at Amazon, but also that the decision was made just days before the company’s 2024 upfront presentation earlier this week.
At current, the exact reasons as to why Amazon have not been publicly disclosed.
However, per Andreeva’s sources, it’s likely that the series’ tumultuous, five-year development cycle played a significant part in its eventual cancellation.
“Since [it’s announcement in 2019], Silk, whose green light was script-dependent, has gone through at least three versions, I hear,” detailed the Deadline Co-Editor-in-Chief. “One of them involved a request for [showrunner Angela] Kang and her writing team to reconfigure the show so it is not hanging so heavily on the central character of Silk”.
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Further, it appears that Amazon’s recent green-lighting of their aptly titled, Nicholas Cage-led Spider-Man Noir spin-off, Noir, also played some part in Silk‘s grounding.
“While evaluating script material and figuring out a course of action, Amazon brass delayed the reopening of Silk‘s writers room after the strike last fall, drawing a rebuke from the WGA,” added Andreeva. “According to sources, the latest pitch from Kang was well received. But after deliberations where to allocate resources on genre IP projects — which are inherently pricey — a decision was made to proceed with Noir, starring Cage, and shelve Silk.”
Notably, now that Amazon is no longer interested in the project, the rights to the Silk series have officially reverted back to Sony, who are reportedly “looking to shop the series to other buyers”.
Meanwhile, Kang will continue to work at Amazon MGM Studios on other projects, while Amazon is still committed to partnering with Sony to develop a brand new suite of series based on the various Spider-Man side characters the latter studio has the rights to.
As for Noir, in addition to starring the aforementioned Cage, the series will be helmed by co-showrunners and executive producers Oren Uziel (22 Jump Street) and Steve Lightfoot (Marvel’s The Punisher) and directed by Fleabag‘s Harry Bradbeer.
At current, Noir has no confirmed release date.