Of course, Sony has nothing to do with any of these movies, whether they are in development or years away from actually being released. However, that doesn't mean that the studio's executives don't know anything at all about their direct competition.
And Sony is now struggling - as we have found out in the recent weeks, through the hack attack which exposed many emails of the studio's bosses, they have no idea where to take their properties and how to sell them better. In this case, we are talking directly about the Spider-Man franchise.
Aquaman
One of these emails, sent by Sony executive Michael DeLuca, explicitly says that Jason Momoa's first solo outing as Aquaman (which is due in 2018, so about 3 years from now) will be directed by Jeff Nichols. How did they get this information, especially since most blockbusters don't announce their directors with so much time left before the movie even begins shooting?
Nobody knows, but one thing is certain: some heads will fall, if we may say so. And one of the people to be fired (as the many rumors say) is Amy Pascal, the Sony Pictures co-chairman.
Jeff Nichol has had quite the critical success with movies like Mud (with Matthew McConaughey) and Take Shelter (a brilliant movie with Michael Shannon and Jessica Chastain). Maybe Sony is quite distressed that they didn’t get their hands on this director, whose next known project is Midnight Special, starring stars like Joel Edgerton, Adam Driver and Kirsten Dunst (yes, that Kirsten Dunst).
X-Men and Fantastic Four
Ever since the idea of a rebooted Fantastic Four appeared, the fans were anxious to find out whether Marvel's best known superheroes will have a crossover with the X-Men (especially since Fox owns the rights for both X-Men and Fantastic Four).
Well, now, because of the same Sony hack and the same emails, the fans can rest assured - a crossover will happen at some point.
How does Sony know that? We don't know - however, the studio really wants to emulate Marvel and Fox's success and create a shared universe. Of course, Sony owns just Spider-Man - but with the web-slinger countless of other characters come, each one more interesting than another. And each one of these could have their own solo film (the idea of Aunt May being a spy and having a solo movie about this still seems ridiculous though - yes, the studio was planning this before the hack attack).
Star Wars
Now we step-out of the superhero universe and into a galaxy far-far away. The same emails have revealed yet another thing. You may have wondered why Luke and Leia Skywalker weren't shown for even a brief second in the teaser trailer for Star Wars: The Force Awakens. And you may have thought that newcomers Finn, Rey and Poe will be front and center of this new trilogy.
But it kind of gets ridiculous - Sony seems to know everything! The same emails have revealed that Disney is actually planning to make the Star Wars Episode VIII and IX all about Luke and Leia. How's that for a twist?
Is it over yet?
It is actually far from being over - it is expected that Christmas will bring the biggest surprises as far as the Sony hack is considered. What does that mean? Who knows - we are also waiting for Santa.