EXCLUSIVE: KryptonSite has learned that Prime Video and Sony looking to give Marvel their own equivalent to Smallville… and they are recruiting some Smallville veterans to make it happen. Full details are expected to hit trade publications this week, but we feel so confident about this that we’re posting what we’ve heard a few days early.
Prime Video has been one of the most successful outlets for comic book adaptations in recent years. The Boys has been a phenomenon that has spun off the also very successful (and good!) Gen V. They also have the animated Invincible which explores the world of characters created by Robert Kirkman. But this next prospect is a character who is arguably as big and iconic as Superman. We are, of course, speaking about Spider-Man. Not Silk, not Spider-Man Noir… full on Peter Parker Spider-Man.
Our sources tell us that seasons of Spider-Man (working title) will be released on a weekly basis with no less than 20 episodes per season, possibly split into 10-episode chunks, and while we don’t know which Smallville writers specifically are lined up for this project, we do note that Smallville creators Alfred Gough and Miles Millar were also involved in what was arguably the best live-action Spider-Man movie, Spider-Man 2, and that they are currently showrunning Wednesday which has MGM Television as one of its production companies.
Because this is taking on the story from the beginning, this Spider-Man series is not tied to the MCU or Sony’s “Spider-Man Universe,” nor will it conflict with future films which are telling their own tale. We have been told that Peter Parker is Spider-Man at least at the show’s inception, and that characters like Aunt May, Mary Jane Watson, Gwen Stacy, Flash Thompson and J. Jonah Jameson will be around from the start. Futures season could include characters from the Spider-Man universe including Venom, Miles Morales, the Green Goblin, Madame Web, Jessica Drew, and more, with different takes from what we saw in the films. With 20-episode seasons, there is a lot that could be developed slowly rather than expecting audiences to get absorbed into a character or concept with only two hours of time.
Should it go to series, Spider-Man will have some additional advantages: In order to accomplish the web-slinging on a reasonable budget, the show will use technology and dynamics seen in the recent PS5 Spider-Man games with additional enhancement from a high-profile visual effects studio. This will not entirely replace practical effects but should be able to keep the episodes coming in on time. Additionally, Prime Video and MGM+ made a deal with Disney and Marvel which will allow Spider-Man to be released on Disney+ and the Freeform cable outlet after each run of episodes has completed; in return, some characters such as Cloak and Dagger or The Kingpin will be loaned to the show for possible appearances in that world. It is anticipated that now, with Spider-Man leading the charge, projects like Silk: Spider Society and Spider-Man Noir could still happen as spinoffs of the parent show. We are also hearing about the Black Cat as a possible spinoff in that world.
From 2001 to 2011, DC fans had Smallville to follow DC’s biggest non-Bat icon for ten years. It seems only appropriate now that Marvel fans get their turn with the premier web-slinger. More news is expected to come officially this week; in the meantime, you should read the information at this link before sharing this news with others.
This is an exciting time to be a fan. A live-action Spider-Man TV show has not been attempted (in the United States, at least) since 1977… and now we are going to get it again! (Hmmm…. casting thoughts: how about Nicholas Hammond as Uncle Ben or even Jonah?)
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