Moviepilot
Concept Art Confirms Leaked Sony E-mails About Spider-Man Spinoff Project '2099'
Newly leaked footage and a frame of concept art, circulated on 4Chan and Reddit Thursday evening, purports to confirm Sony's plans to diversify the Spider-Man franchise after backlash from leaked e-mails that the title character should be 'white' and 'not a homosexual'.
The e-mails were part of the legal licensing agreement between Sony Pictures Entertainment and Marvel Entertainment, and included these 'mandatory traits'. However, three years after the email leaks, a fresh set of released material seems to confirm that the studios may be set to review their agreement and add a non-white actor as Spider-Man.
An 18-second unfinished raw cut of a teaser for a Spider-Man 2099 film, with Doc Ock as the villain, and possible references to Venom/Carnage was leaked to a Russian streaming site on Thursday evening and has since been shared thousands of times online sparking intense debate amongst fans about the possibility of a Spider-Man 2099 feature.
Description of the leaked video [from Reddit]:
"The trailer/teaser/test footage starts with a shadowy figure on top of a skyscraper in a futuristic city with energy beams shooting into the heavens. The figure is not very clear. But could be either Doctor Octopus, Venom or Carnage. The screen reads: Get Ready. As the music gets more intense, a space shuttle/ship narrowly escapes the atmosphere of a dying planet in outer space. Again, possible references to Venom/Carnage. At this stage, I was on the edge of my seat hoping to see a symbiote stuck to the side of the craft, or a shot of a salivating mouth with extremely bad dental work. But, what we did get was a very ominous shot of Doc Ocks tentacles emerging from a cloud of smoke. A cool as hell shot, if I am fair. Then, the money shot. A badass Miguel OHara, in full Spider-Man 2099 outfit is seen walking away from a reactor overload (?), sparks flying everywhere, until finally it explodes into a supernova. The Spider-Man 2099 logo, shimmering in brilliant outline is displayed across the board, as the intense music calms, and fades into the background."
Redditors and 4Chan users are in some disagreement about the man featured in the released frame of concept art, which shows a futuristic city scene, complete with neon lights and some major grunge. Users are divided, with one group stating that it is Miguel O'Hara, the protagonist of Spider-Man 2099; while others are torn between an alternate version of Peter Parker, or Miles Morales.
The leaks appear to confirm several pieces of correspondence, among the 173,000 emails and 30,000 Sony documents leaked by North Korean hackers in 2014. In one of the e-mails, Sony Pictures Executive Director of Creative Advertising at Screen Gems, Juan Capdet proposed the following:
"Spider-man 2099 (2nd half 2017)- this is our Captain America-type franchise. Instead of a period WWII film, we have a futuristic New York in the year 2099. Miguel OHara origin story (heads up genetics department at Alchemax and becomes Spider-man). He is up against the evil conglomerate Alchemax and trying to battle either Morlun (who will chase him through time to devour him) or Kron Stone (Venom 2099). In the end the villain is defeated while battling at Alchemax and Miguel/S2099 ends up being sent back in time to present day NYC. This leads into a team up with 616-Spidey to take down Carnage (Payoff level event)."
"Spider-man 2099 2 (first half of 2020) Miguel is stuck in the present day but is trying to get back to 2099. However he must keep Tiberius Stone (his future grandfather) alive or his whole existence will cease. S2099 encounters Mac Gargan, Scorpion and they battle it out. But will Miguel get back to his time
"
While the Doc Ock tentacles might suggest a change in villian or an addition to Venom/Carnage, the timeliness of the leaks would suggest that 2020 could be a realistic release year for the first 2099 spinoff.
Add the fact that there are strong suggestions that Marvel's upcoming Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017) will feature the birth of Alchemax Industries, it expertly sets up the 2099 universe. Liz Allan who runs Allan Company, the business that becomes Alchemax in the comics actually features as a confirmed love interest for Peter Parker in Homecoming.
Sony and Marvel have remained tight-lipped about this so far, but with the success of Deadpool's test footage leak, which actually prompted the studio to invest in the now-wildly-successful franchise, the 2099 leaks could be a way for the producers to gauge interest and see what fans think.