‘Silk: Spider Society’ Reportedly Too Women-Focused For Amazon
Under the cover of Madame Web‘s disastrous theatrical opening, Amazon reportedly fires Silk: Spider Society‘s writer’s room.
Well, here we are. Deadline reports that Madame Web, the latest Sony Spider-Man film, is set to bring in just under $26 million from its early Valentine’s Day weekend opening. And while this is not a catastrophic failure for Sony, it isn’t good. The company must rely on a mix of international sales and their Netflix deal to minimize the loss.
This loss, however, speaks to a larger issue. After the surprise success of Venom, Sony’s live-action Spiderverse films are not performing well. The tale of the tape goes thusly. Venom: Let There Be Carnage sees a notable decrease in worldwide box office sales from the original film. Morbius is a box office disaster. And now Madame Web continues the trend.
Our hypothesis for part of Sony’s failings stems from a focus on marketing these movies as memes first, narratives second. And while we cannot say for certain how Sony’s approach may change for the Spiderverse going forward, we do know one thing that’s happening in the wake of Madame Web’s failure.
Silk: Spider Society, the first TV series set in the Sony Spiderverse due on Amazon Prime reportedly no longer has a writing staff—because they’ve all been fired. Let’s look at what we know so far and debunk some of the presumptions already out there.
Courtesy of Marvel Comics
What is Silk: Spider Society?
Silk is Cindy Moon. In Marvel Comics she is bitten by the same radioactive spider as Peter Parker. Moon gets trained by Ezekiel Sims while is under threat by an alt-universe being, Morlun, who basically wants to kill all spider-powered beings. Sims locks Moon away for her own safety where she remains for thirteen years. During this time Morlun dies—twice. Eventually, Parker finds out about Moon and frees her. And from there, Moon becomes the hero known as Silk.
As for Silk: Spider Society, there’s not a lot of information. It stars Cindy Moon, is set in Queens, and involves her learning to fight crime while struggling with her heritage. Like many Spider-Man stories, it also deals with Moon’s relationships with friends and family. Pretty boilerplate. As of now, the series showrunner is Angela Kang (The Walking Dead).
Reportedly a number of scripts were in the can previous to the 2023 WGA Strike. However, Amazon Studios left the series (and others) on ice post-strike so long that the WGAW intends to sue.
The ways Silk: Spider Society and Madame Web connect are twofold. Both are set in Sony’s Spiderverse. And Moon’s trainer Ezekiel Sims is the villain in Madame Web. Which brings us to the latest information.
Courtesy of Marvel Comics (Artist: Helen Chen)
Amazon Reportedly Fires Silk: Spider Society Writing Staff
According to a report from Elaine Low at The Ankler, there is no longer a writing staff on Silk: Spider Society. Reportedly Angela Kang remains as showrunner for producers Phil Lord, Christopher Miller, Kai Wu, and Jim Barnes. But everyone else? Out.
In addition to the firing itself is the stunningly inept reason given. According to an insider, Amazon wants a show with a more “male-skewing audience “. And one question circling this report involves Madame Web’s influence on this decision. Is the poor performance of the female-starring Madame Web proof to Sony and Amazon executives that the comic book audience is primarily male?
The answer is “maybe”. But also, let’s get into just how little sense that makes.
Courtesy of Sony Pictures
Why are Comic Book Movies Suffering (Wrong Answers Only)
Unless there’s a monetary miracle, Madame Web is a box office bomb. This follows the similar poor performance of The Marvels. Is the focus on women in superhero movies the reason these movies are performing so badly?
No. Of course not. If women are the problem, then why is Morbius a failure? Did The Flash just outrun his own audience? How about Shazam: Fury of the Gods? Blue Beetle anyone? Black Adam stars THE ROCK (the manliest man on Earth) and its check is bouncing like a ball, honey. So how is gender parity the “it” factor?
But if the question is: are Sony and Amazon executives short-sighted enough to blame women for their own failure? Then, yes, girl. Absolutely. But that doesn’t make it true. Just adding women in the first place isn’t a money-making strategy either. Having a diverse group of people in front of and behind the camera is the moral thing to do, but it isn’t a license to print money.
But here we are on the internet in 2024 and people really believe this is women’s fault. The evidence isn’t there. However…
Courtesy of Warner Bros Discovery
Why are Movies AND TV Shows Suffering (Actual Answers)
If one wishes to be conspiratorial, rather than consider Madame Web why not consider the WGA strike? It’s no secret that executives are mad that writers, performers, and other entertainment workers want a fair wage for their hard labor. Workers continue to fight against the use of A.I. to remove them from the creative equation. As streaming services flounder and theaters struggle to regain their pro-pandemic success, the people who hold the purse strings blame creatives.
Maybe some of those writers lose their jobs because they stand in a picket line? Maybe that’s what’s going on with Silk: Spider Society?
Hiring or firing more women will not make for a safer, more successful working environment. And the actual problem behind the decrease in both quality and financial gain in the entertainment industry is that workers are mistreated. COVID requires a whole new process behind the scenes. It’s more work for everyone but executives don’t seem to account for this.
Everyone wants a job done fast, cheap, and to an exacting standard. But you can only pick two. These days it seems like every executive picks fast and cheap. The result is low-quality work and dissatisfied customers. And that doesn’t even cover the other ways non-creatives over-control the creative process.
So let’s stop blaming women or parity on the whole. Neither creatives nor audiences are to blame. The problem is that a bunch of glorified accountants are in creative positions and they don’t know what they’re doing. Next time you see one of these stories where hard workers lose their jobs? Blame those people instead of celebrating because you think comics are for boys.
