There is just no end to the Spider-Man franchise rumors. Yesterday, we reported that Sony might be willing to let Marvel use the character in attempts to reestablish him as the lucrative franchise character he was while Sam Raimi was directing. While it is a long shot, it is definitely a move that would benefit both houses, but also should be a huge service to fans.

Now comes a new rumor that Sony is rebooting the franchise yet again, but that it will be a “soft reboot.” There are also murmurings of the Alex Kurtzman-directed Venom being cancelled. Hit the jump to learn more.

The Sinister Six will always be a constant threat to Spider-Man. Though the roster has changed throughout history, even once doubling to 12, Spidey’s greatest villains will unite the one signal purpose of taking out the webslinger. So when Sony announced that their Spider-Man Cinematic Universe would release a Sinister Six movie written and directed by Drew Goddard in 2018, fans got excited. Of course this meant that the films would need to build up to that one film, and it made plenty of sense that a Sinister Six film would be released after The Amazing Spider-Man 3.

But then came The Amazing Spider-Man 2‘s disappointing box office numbers, which was then followed by Sony pushing The Amazing Spider-Man 3‘s release date from June 10, 2016 to 2018. The studio then rescheduled the Sinister Six film from 2018 to 2016. Of course an entire film focused on the Sinister Six, that only has a few possible members on their roster that we have seen and another two confirmed outside of the film, would mean that Spider-Man would have to be involved in some sort of capacity. But Andrew Garfield doesn’t seem to think that’s happening. Hit the jump to see what he had to say about his possible lack of involvement.

A year ago Sony Pictures Entertainment had such high hopes for their rebooted Spider-Man franchise. Production on The Amazing Spider-Man 2 was moving forth without a hitch and early footage from the blockbuster sequel screened at the 2013 San Diego Comic-Con to an enthusiastic response. Back in December the studio was so certain that it was going to be the biggest movie of this summer, if not 2014, that they announced plans to exploit their ownership of the movie rights to the Spider-Man universe by developing spinoffs that would star Spidey villains Venom and the Sinister Six.

The plan originally was for Amazing Spider-Man 2 screenwriters Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci, and Jeff Pinkner to collaborate on the Venom feature, while Cabin in the Woods director Drew Goddard would write and eventually be called upon to direct the Sinister Six movie. Then Amazing Spider-Man 2 opened to withering reviews from critics and less box office than the studio had initially projected. I haven’t seen the second movie in the rebooted series yet but the consensus is that the gluttony of villains, lack of attention paid to the main characters, and an anti-climatic ending that was to have paved the way for the spinoffs are what hurt its chances at the box office. A $706 million worldwide haul is hardly anything to sniff, but Sony was hoping that Amazing Spider-Man 2 would top out at a solid billion and change at the very least.

Sony’s decision to reboot the Spider-Man franchise may have come too soon and has painted them into a tiny corner with their planned universe, since the rebooted franchise has struggled to please critics, and has not fared well at the box office, with each film earning less than its successor. The news that the studio would reschedule The Amazing Spider-Man 3‘s 2016 release to a rumored 2017 release did not bode well for the franchise, and now things are about to get much worse.

Roberto Orci, who was hired to write the script for the second sequel, plus the script for the Venom spinoff, will no longer be involved with developing The Amazing Spider-Man cinematic universe. Losing a writer at this critical juncture is one thing, but Orci says that he has no idea what the studio’s plans are for the franchise.

Hit the jump for more.

If you are still bitter about The Amazing Spider-Man 2, no one would really blame you, especially on account that the film got mixed to negative reviews, and is one of the lowest earnings Spider-Man films of the five that have been released. Though the $60 million weekend opening – it took almost a month and a half to reach over $200 domestically – and a $600 million worldwide gross isn’t a complete loss, the fact that the grossing numbers have been dwindling since the reboot isn’t exactly what Sony was hoping to see.

With Sinister Six and Venom spinoff films coming in the near future, all of which are interconnected to The Amazing Spider-Man canon, Sony is left to rethink their strategy for the franchise, which may actually include pushing The Amazing Spider-Man 3‘s release from 2016 to 2017. Hit the jump for more.