So far, the hacking of Sony’s servers by a mysterious group calling themselves “Guardians of Peace” has caused plenty of damage to the company, leaking employee salaries (revealing a troubling gender pay gap), racist jabs at President Obama, digs at A-listers like Angelina Jolie, Kevin Hart, and Leonardo DiCaprio, and plenty more.
The Daily Beast has spent days and days sifting through hundreds of thousands of email correspondences between Sony execs, and the results have been eye-opening.
In addition to a planned Spider-Man reboot (again), new documents discovered by The Beast Team reveal some other interesting plans for Peter Parker and his web-slinging alter ego. An email dated October 13, 2014, from Michael De Luca, co-president of production for Columbia Pictures, to Amy Pascal, co-chairman of Sony Pictures Entertainment, reveals plans for a Spider-Man three cameo in the third Captain America film, Captain America: Civil War, which is scheduled to hit theaters May 6, 2016.
“I really feel, in my heart of hearts, that the new spiderman [sic] in cap 3 could just appear in his own film, be it sinister six or a kick ass spidey film of his own, after that intro in cap 3 and people would be cool with it,” wrote De Luca.
And that’s not all. An email dated September 20, 2014, from De Luca to Pascal discusses plans for not only a “female spidey movie,” but an Avengers-like superhero extravaganza incorporating characters from different upcoming Spider-Man-related projects—in an attempt to emulate what De Luca reveals is a planned Fox crossover of the X-Men and Fantastic Four teams (X-Men: Apocalypse is due in 2016, while The Fantastic Four hits theaters in 2015).
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“[Simon] Kinberg told me fox is steering Xmen and Fantastic Four into an eventual team up film,” wrote De Luca. “Seems to me maybe, since the Spider-man universe itself is deep, you guys should look at sinister six, new spidey, female movie and venom as linked pieces leading to eventual mega movie ala Feige and Fox and not stand alone single films. It's early in all these and you can still map out a blueprint for connective tissue.”
An October 21 email from De Luca to Pascal also (potentially) revealed some directors for upcoming superhero films, many of which aren’t even set up at Sony, including Jeff Nichols (Mud) as director of Aquaman, and plans for Phil Lord and Chris Miller (The LEGO Movie) to helm a The Amazing Spider-Man 3 in 2018.
There’s also some film-related news involving some big names in music. An email dated December 4, 2013, from Screen Gems honcho Clint Culpepper to Pascal and a team of Sony execs discusses how Beyoncé’s father, Matthew Knowles, went to him to try and set up a Destiny’s Child biopic.
“Matthew Knowles, Beyonce’s Father wants to make the film of Destiny’s Child and came to me first,” wrote Culpepper. “He’s going to Universal next. Do we think it would be a successful film? They’re on Sony label. I’m just not sure that it’s not too soon.” All the Sony execs return very enthusiastic responses, although there is a Destiny’s Child biopic currently slated for February 2015 on the Lifetime Network.
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Which brings us to the inimitable Kanye West. An email dated August 4, 2014, from West’s creative director Elon Rutberg to Pascal discusses a potential pitch for a Kanye West feature film.
“I supervise all of Kanye’s film and media projects, and we have a major film project coming up that involves both cinematic and technological innovation, so I naturally thought Sony and wanted to reach out,” wrote Rutberg. “We premiered a multi-screen cinema experience to great response at Cannes 2012, and are looking to take the storytelling to the next level with a feature length film, shot for an immersive cinema experience.”
West will also reportedly be appearing in the as-yet-untitled Christmas Eve film due next year directed by Jonathan Levine (50/50) and starring Seth Rogen and Joseph Gordon-Levitt.
An email dated August 7, 2014, from producer James Weaver to Rogen, his filmmaking partner Evan Goldberg, and Pascal says, “We’ll have an XMAS tease for 2015. We have a specific idea to attach to THE INTERVIEW that will crush. Seth, Joe, and [Anthony] Mackie reenacting the scene from BIG on the floor piano at FAO Schwartz with KANYE WEST. It’s fucking awesome.”