WTF Rumor: 'Amazing Spider-Man' Producers Planning Aunt May Movie?

It's been pretty clear that Sony doesn't know quite what to do with its Spider-Man franchise. There have been reports that Venom has been cancelled and Sinister Six may be a "soft reboot." A female-centric movie is in the works but we have no idea what it's about. Now the latest rumor is they're pursuing a movie about Aunt May. Yes, that Aunt May. More on the Aunt May movie rumor after the jump.

In the Amazing Spider-Man movies, as well as in Sam Raimi's earlier Spider-Man trilogy, May Parker is portrayed as a kind older woman who raises Peter after the death of his parents. But according to Latino Review, the Aunt May spinoff will take place before all that. Instead, she'll be a young spy. Think Mad Men or Pan Am... or perhaps, though Sony's probably not eager to make his comparison, a Spidey-verse version of Agent Carter.

If true, this won't be the first time someone's tried to chronicle the adventures of a younger Aunt May. In the early 2000s Mark Millar wrote a romantic miniseries for Marvel called Trouble, which centered around teenage versions of May, Ben, and Peter's parents Richard and Mary. Moreover, Richard and Mary have been secret agents in the books, so the general idea of Peter's family being linked to espionage isn't entirely new, even if the specific concept of Aunt May being a spy is.

Still, it sounds like a pretty big stretch. Aunt May is likable enough, but it's hard to imagine many people are clamoring for an entire movie centered around her. Especially when the connection to Spider-Man — you know, the point around which the entire Spidey-verse revolves — sounds so tenuous. Not to mention Agent Carter already has the "superhero adaptation centered on a female spy in a retro setting" niche filled.

That's not to say it'd be impossible to make an Aunt May movie work. Stranger things have happened. Nor is the Aunt May movie idea entirely terrible. Lord knows the superhero movie genre could use more female leads, and a spy thriller at least sounds like a more interesting take than yet another origin story. And the Amazing Spider-Man universe has hinted at some interesting Parker family history, so this could be a novel way to explore that angle.

It's just that if Sony is determined to rejuvenate its Spider-Man franchise, an Aunt May spinoff seems like a very strange way to do it. She's a third-tier supporting character without a devoted fanbase or a strongly established backstory, and she'd be exiled to an entirely different time period. Again, not saying it can't or won't happen. Just... really?

Do you want to see an Aunt May movie?