In a surprise move, Amazon has decided to scrap the highly anticipated Marvel 'Silk: Spider Society' series, leaving fans bewildered and the future of this Marvel project uncertain.
- May 18, 2024
AceShowbiz - Amazon's Marvel drama "Silk: Spider Society", produced by Sony Pictures Television, is no longer developed at the streamer. Sources say that Sony TV, which owns rights to a fraction of the Marvel universe featuring more than 900 characters, wants to shop the drama series from former "The Walking Dead" showrunner Angela Kang to other buyers.
Kang, who left AMC for what sources say is an eight-figure deal with Amazon, remains housed at the streamer and will continue to develop projects for the company. Reps for Amazon and Sony declined to comment.
The decision to scrap Silk comes a mere two days after Amazon, during its first in-person pitch to Madison Avenue ad buyers, announced a Sony-produced Marvel series "Noir", starring Nicolas Cage.
"Noir", like "Silk", is poised to launch first on Amazon's linear network, MGM+, before debuting on the streamer. Both shows are executive produced by Phil Lord, Chris Miller, and Amy Pascal ("Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse") and were conceived as part of a larger suite of live-action shows based on the Sony Pictures universe of Marvel characters.
Plans for the interconnected Marvel slate of Sony shows remain in place, sources say, though only Noir will be part of that now unless another buyer for Silk emerges. It's unclear if Sony could shop Silk to Disney, which owns the rest of the MCU and has found massive success with its shared universe of films and TV shows.
Silk, which was formally announced in November 2022, was poised to reopen its writers' room in January of this year after hitting pause for the Writers Guild of America strike. The delayed room reopening, which triggered a warning for Amazon and Sony from the WGA, came after the studio and streamer used the strike to evaluate work that had already been completed for Silk.
Silk was based on characters created by Dan Slott and Humberto Ramos. The series was inspired by Marvel comics and follows Cindy Moon, a Korean-American woman bitten by the same spider that bit Peter Parker, as she escapes imprisonment and searches for her missing family on her way to becoming the superhero known as Silk. The show was to be one of the first to feature a Korean-American superhero at its center.
For their part, Lord and Miller moved their overall deal from Disney's 20th Television to Sony in 2019 and, as part of the nine-figure pact, were handed control of the studio's Marvel slate. Sony retains rights to characters including Spider-Man and his villains, Venom, Morbius, and more. Select TV projects related to Sony's Marvel characters will be produced in partnership with former Sony Pictures Entertainment co-chairman Pascal.
Despite Amazon's commitment to a suite of live-action series based on the Sony Pictures Universe of 900 Spider-Man & Co. Marvel characters, the dismissal adds another chapter to the already complicated development history of Silk. Sony TV started conversations with Amazon for the suite of Marvel series in 2020, with Silk leading the charge. However, delays and reconfigurations hampered its progress.
After evaluating genre IP projects, Amazon brass opted to allocate resources to "Noir", starring Cage, and shelved Silk. Superhero movies with female leads have recently struggled, reflecting in genre TV decisions, including Prime Video's choice not to renew sci-fi series "The Peripheral".
With Kang's latest Silk pitch well-received, hopes remain that another buyer will emerge to bring Cindy Moon's spider-bitten adventures to screens worldwide.
