Sony courts Gina Prince-Bythewood for Silver & Black, a Spider-Man spinoff

Last Updated on July 31, 2021

Geez, I haven't even finished my afternoon coffee yet and promising news is already hitting my desk. It's been announced today that Sony Pictures has webbed-up Gina Prince-Bythewood to direct SILVER & BLACK, a Spider-Man spinoff project set to feature both Silver Sable and Black Cat (Felicia Hardy) of Sony's Marvel Universe. As you might have heard, Prince-Bythewood  just finished shooting the pilot episode of Marvel's upcoming CLOAK & DAGGER series on Freeform, which you can view a trailer for by clicking here. Additionally, Gina recently completed the first season of SHOTS FIRED, a drama she created with her husband Reggie Rock Bythewood. As part of her work on the SILVER & BLACK project, Prince-Bythewood will re-write the original script penned by THOR: THE DARK WORLD scribe Christopher Yost.

If the characters of Silver Sable and Black Cat are new to you, allow me to provide you with a quick rundown of each. Silver Sable made her debut in the pages of The Amazing Spider-Man #265 (1985). Created by Tom DeFalco and Ron Frenz, Silver Sable (Silver Sablinova) is a mercenary who who hunts criminals as the leader of the Wild Pack. She's also the CEO of Silver Sable International. While not typically viewed as a villain by the hero community, Sable's methods of apprehension have been called into question on more than one occasion in the past.

As for Black Cat, Felicia Hardy is a "reformed" burglar who continues her walk on the wild side despite doing good when it suits her desires. Known to many throughout the Marvel Universe as a detective and adventurer, Felicia is Spider-Man's ex-girlfriend, who uses her luck powers to manipulate her way out of threatening situations. Currently, as seen in the pages of Patsy Walker: AKA Hellcat by creators Kate Leth and Brittney L. Williams, Felicia is so not over Spidey, and often daydreams about the two of them getting back together.

I would suspect that casting for SLIVER & BLACK will be announced soon, especially if Sony wants to keep fan's spider-sense tingling after the reveal that MAD MAX: FURY ROAD star Tom Hardy has been cast in the role of VENOM for yet another upcoming Spider-Man related film. 

I've got to tell ya, I'm having a tough time getting on-board with Sony's planned "Spiderverse" when what I consider to be the most integral part of the formula, Spider-Man himself, has yet to be mentioned as an element of this ambitious (and odd) venture. Granted, I don't know the particulars of it all, but how do you craft a Spider-Man-related universe without the web-crawler himself? I simply don't get it. I really wish that Sony would throw the gauntlet down and tell us exactly what they plan to do. Is there perhaps a big reveal coming? Will Sony introduce a proper Mile Morales to the big screen and have all of this revolve around him? I'd be down for that, though I'm sure there are plenty of others who would gripe and moan about someone other than Peter Parker donning the suit. I suppose we'll just have to wait and see. 

Spidey's next cinematic adventure will be in SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING, which swings into theaters on June 7, 2017.