Superheroes now dominate the multiplex, but Sony Pictures only has one major character: Spider-Man.  Thankfully, he's one of the biggest, and he's got a colorful gallery of supporting characters.  While The Amazing Spider-Man franchise could be building to the wallcrawler facing off against the supervillain group Sinister Six, the new Spidey movies are only coming out once every two years.  Other studios with more characters are trying to force out one every year, or in Marvel's case, two per year.  In order to stay competitive, Sony might start digging into Spider-Man's supporting cast.

Hit the jump for more.  The Amazing Spider-Man 2 opens in 3D on May 2, 2014  The Amazing Spider-Man 3 opens June 10, 2016, and The Amazing Spider-Man 4 opens May 4, 2018.

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Image via Marvel

According to The Wrap, Sony Pictures Entertainment Co-Chairman Amy Pascal told investors "We are going to access Marvel’s full world of Spider-Man characters, so be on the lookout for new heroes and villains," earlier today.

The name that should be ringing in your head right now is Venom.  He's popular among fanboys, and he's got Spider-Man's powers and then some.  In the comics, the alien symbiote suit can be summoned at any time, makes host Eddie Brock bigger, stronger, and provides him with an overabundance of slobber.  The character was introduced through Spider-Man (Peter Parker had the symbiote first but shunned it, so it found a new host with rival photographer Brock), but there may not be time or space to provide the introduction in The Amazing Spider-Man movies.

Another likely candidate could be the cat burglar Black Cat, who may or may not be in The Amazing Spider-Man 2.  She doesn't have any superpowers, but if the character does turn out to be in the sequel and audiences find her endearing, it could be enough to get her a spin-off.

Sony's decision to keep pumping Spider-Man movies into the multiplex makes sense, but they'll have to be cautious when it comes to expanding his universe while he swings elsewhere.

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