Last week, it was reported that Sony had pulled upcoming superhero movie Silver & Black from its original release date. After some initial panic from fans, it was confirmed that this move was done so the script could be re-jigged and made into its best possible self. All good, right?
Well, about that. Silver & Black is now dead. The film will now be split up into two separate films focusing on each of the two leads: Black Cat, and Silver Sable. This does give the catsuit-wearing burglar and criminal-hunting mercenary a chance to shine on their own, but unfortunately it does mean that writer-director Gina Prince-Bythewood is out.
She will reportedly remain as a producer on both films, but it’s a real shame since it’s always great to have refreshing new voices helming a big-budget movies. However, Sony has promised to hire female directors for both projects, and there’s now plenty of time to pick filmmakers as both films are now practically back to the drawing board.
Sanford Panitch, the president of Columbia Pictures and the executive overseeing the unofficially named SUMC (Sony’s Universe of Marvel Characters), said briefly: “We believe Black Cat is enough of her own character with a great backstory and a canon of material to draw from to justify her own film”.
The appeal of the Silver & Black team-up was that it would likely eschew the need for a hefty origin story of both characters, instead plunging them together into an interesting friendship of sorts. Splitting the film into two likely means an origin story for each character. While these characters are new to most cinema-goers, most superhero origin stories are relatively similar.
It would have also been cool to have a superhero movie led by two female leads. Unfortunately the Silver & Black cancellation now means we’re likely a long way off from seeing either of these films, and who knows what the SUMC will look like by then?
#Peace.Love.Silver&Black
