Tom Rothman Takes Over At SONY - What Could This Mean For SPIDER-MAN?
Nothing good if his past history with comic book movies is anything to go by. Marvel may have a hand in Spidey's future as it pertains to using him in Civil War (or beyond), but if Sony are indeed planning more movies with the Webhead after that, they'll be overseen by Rothman.
Tom Rothman has been named head honcho of Sony Pictures, taking over from Amy Pascal who "stepped down" after that recent email hack fiasco. Even if you don't recognize his name, you will most definitely remember his work.
Rothman ran Fox back when the likes of Daredevil, Elektra and the previous Fantastic Four movies were released. He fast-tracked X-Men: The Last Stand, forcing Bryan Singer to abandon the project, and then placed Brett Ratner at the helm. Word is he also micromanaged X-Men: Origins: Wolverine into such a mess that the film wasn't even recognizable to its director, Gavin Hood. Some say Rothman dislikes comic book movies in general, only having a hand in producing the ones he did because of how lucrative they are, and is allegedly one of the main reasons there is such bad blood between Fox and Marvel Studios these days.
So you see, probably not the wisest move for Sony to make as they embark on a partnership with Marvel.
Obviously not all of the blame for those movies' shortcoming can be attributed solely to Rothman, but the fact remains they were produced on his watch. Will this effect Sony's future plans for Spider-Man and those spin-off movies going forward? Could it even have some bearing on Marvel's plans to use the character in their project(s)? Only time will tell of course, but if Rothman hasn't learned anything from his past mistakes, we might well be looking back with fondness on the glory days of The Amazing Spider-Man 2 someday.
About The Author:
Mark Cassidy is a writer, photographer, amateur filmmaker, and Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic from Dublin, Ireland.