Jon Watts’ new TV show deal does not prevent him from making future Spider-Man movies. After directing indie films like Clown and Cop Car earlier in his career, Watts made the leap to blockbusters with 2017’s Spider-Man: Homecoming. Peter Parker’s first solo outing in the MCU proved to be a critical and commercial success, which is why Watts was brought back for this summer’s sequel, Spider-Man: Far From Home. All Far From Home did was become the highest-grossing film in Sony’s history, so it’s safe to say Watts is a good fit for the Spider-Man franchise.
Of course, the Spider-Man film franchise is in a very interesting place now. Last month, Sony and Disney could not come to terms on a new agreement, meaning until further notice Spider-Man is no longer part of the MCU. Sony plans on making more Spider-Man movies with Tom Holland (possibly crossing over with Venom), but right now Watts is not formally attached to another one. Sony would probably like to see Watts return, and even as the filmmaker adds new projects to his résumé, that possibility remains open.
Per Variety, Watts is now involved with the FX drama Old Man, starring John Lithgow. The plan is for Watts to direct the pilot episode and executive produce the rest of the series. Production is scheduled to commence in the fall.
That timeline, obviously, will not interfere with shooting on the next Spider-Man film. A third solo venture for Holland’s wall-crawler has yet to be officially announced, and in all likelihood it’s still a couple of years away from hitting theaters. It was only recently reported Far From Home writers Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers were returning for Spider-Man 3, so there likely hasn’t been much work done on the script yet (especially with the Marvel/Sony fallout still fresh). Additionally, Holland has some non-Marvel films lined up. He’s headlining drama Cherry for Avengers: Endgame directors Joe and Anthony Russo and he’s still attached to the Uncharted adaptation - despite that film’s inability to hold on to a director. With all that going on, Watts had space to knock out a TV pilot.
Considering Watts doesn’t pick up any other feature films in the meantime (like the Methuselah movie he was in talks for back in April), he should be free and ready to go when Spider-Man 3 revs up towards production. Hopefully, Watts returns to the franchise to round out a trilogy. He’s delivered arguably the best solo Spider-Man films since the Sam Raimi era and clearly works well with the cast. Watts’ films struck the right balance between superhero action and Peter’s everyday struggles, capturing the essence of the classic comics. He may not be able to integrate MCU elements into the proceedings anymore, but Watts certainly knows his way around a Spider-Man movie.
More: The Best Spider-Man 3 Title After the Sony-Marvel Split
Source: Variety
- Morbius Release Date: 2022-04-01
