Caffeinated Clint
Walking ATM’s Phil Lord and Chris Miller (“The Lego Movie”, “Spider-Man : Into the Spider-Verse”, “21 Jump Street”) have departed Fox for Sony where they’ll oversee the Marvel TV universe- or predominantly, a bunch of movies set in Peter Parker’s world.
Hot on the heels of their statue win for the animated “Spider-Man” flick, the juggling buddies have inked a five-year deal – said to be valued in the nine-figure range – that will see them develop a host of TV series based on Marvel comic characters. These are said to include a new “Spider-Man” (and all of the villains within that universe) series, a “Venom” series (which will exist outside of the movie universe, likely), a “Morbius” show (separate from the Jared Leto-starring movie that’s in production), and new Black Cat and Silver Sable offerings. There’s also the possibility of doing something on the box with the characters from “Into the Spider-Verse”.
It’ll be interesting to see what form these series take, as in will they be animated or live-action? If live-action, I’m pretty sure the fleshy “Spider-Man” series would be the first series adaptation – to feature a human Petey – since Nicholas Hammond donned the tights.
“This is a significant milestone for our television business, having the opportunity to work with two of the most creative forces in the industry in both our film and television businesses,” SPT chairman Mike Hopkins said Monday in a statement. “Building on our strong IP and creating new franchises has been a key focus for SPE, and the best way to do that is to invest in remarkable storytellers like Phil and Chris. We are thrilled to welcome them to the SPT family, and I want to thank [SPT co-presidents] Jeff [Frost], Chris [Parnell] and Jason [Clodfelter] for all their hard work in pulling this deal together.”
The deal sees Lord and Miller back in bed with Sony, who helped get them a parking spot at Spago’s by greenlighting their film takes on the “Jump Street” series, “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs” and, as mentioned umpteen times in this article, “Spider-Man : Into the Spider -Verse”.
All of the projects will reportedly be produced under the Lord Miller Productions banner.
“We are so grateful to everyone at Sony Pictures Television for choosing to partner with us and expand our enduring relationship with the studio,” Lord and Miller said in a joint statement. “Together we aim to make groundbreaking work of the highest quality and integrity, and to place that work in convenient proximity to your eyeballs and earholes, wherever you may be.”
“Phil and Chris have reimagined every medium and genre they have touched,” said Sony Pictures Television president Frost. “Whether it’s television, features or animation, they have created their own unique brand and style. We are so excited to be working with these brilliant creators and showrunners and are looking forward to collaborating with them in every aspect of television — comedy, drama, animation and beyond.”
A real win for the indie TV studio, who could potentially rival Disney Plus with their upcoming slate of small-screen Marvel superhero fare.
