Sony’s got Sinister Six and Venom on the way and possibly that rumored all-female Spider-Man team-up movie too, but apparently that’s not all the studio is working on within the Spider-Man realm.  It’s being reported that Sony is also trying to put together an Aunt May movie as well.  Yes, Aunt May.  But not Sally Field’s Aunt May.  Should this be the real deal, the Aunt May spinoff film would cover the character’s younger years.

Perhaps the studio really is kicking around the idea, but it’s hard to imagine Sony committing to a Spider-Man project with such a wildly different tone and, presumably, a lack of super-powered characters, too.  Hit the jump from more.

According to Latino Review, this Aunt May movie would be an espionage story “in the vein of AMC’s Mad Men.”  The outlet also notes the similarity between that idea and Marvel’s Agent Carter series.  However, even though Agent Carter is brimming with potential, the MCU and Marvel TV universe have always been places for both superheroes and superpower-less agents.  That’s not really the case with the Spider-Man film franchise and Marvel’s attempt to give it a shot in the comics didn’t go very well.

Marvel released the comic Trouble back in 2003, a romance mini-series with teen versions of Aunt May, Uncle Ben, Richard and Mary Parker.  Latino Review goes on to explain that Aunt May winds up a pregnant teen thanks to Richard, but decides to let Richard and Mary raise baby Peter on their own and keep Peter’s biological mother a secret.

Apparently that didn’t go over well with fans and Marvel abandoned the attempt to highlight young Aunt May, so it’s rather baffling that Sony might actually try to give it another go.  Sony’s idea might have nothing to do with changing Peter Parker’s origin story, but regardless, pumping money into an Aunt May spin-off just doesn’t seem like a bright idea, especially after The Amazing Spider-Man 2 failed to impress at the box office, presumably shaking up Sony’s release schedule thereafter.  Development is key in this business, but perhaps the studio would be better off keeping the focus on Sinister Six, Venom, this possible Glass Ceiling film and the other Amazing Spider-Man movies rather than pursuing an idea that already failed with the Spider-Man comic fan base and might not appeal to the film franchise's followers either.