Drew Goddard and 'Sinister Six:' Is it a good idea?

Superhero spin-offs are no certainty in Hollywood. Villain spin-offs? They're even less of a sure thing.

Sony is forging ahead with its plan to take the “Amazing Spider-Man” universe and push it in new directions, including with “Sinister Six," a movie featuring a who’s-who of baddies such as Electro and Doctor Octopus.

A report on Deadline says that Drew Goddard, the “Cabin in the Woods” director who had been eyed as a potential director for “Sinister Six,” is about to officially land the gig. The news isn’t hugely surprising, given that Goddard is a part of a coterie of about a half-dozen writers who have  been developing the Spidey-Man world (it also includes Alex Kurtzman, who is set to direct the “Venom” spin-off).

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Still, it shows what’s at stake for Sony as it unveils some of those bad guys in the upcoming “Amazing Spider-Man 2,” which the studio hopes helps launch a Marvel-like stream of compelling characters and reliable product.

The playbook for this universe expansion and eventual assemblage is of course “The Avengers,” which piled on the characters and offered a little something for everyone with the likes of Robert Downey Jr.’s Iron Man and Mark Ruffalo’s Incredible Hulk.

Yet “Sinister Six” comes at it from the other side, and gambles that fan interest in the new and the dark is such that it extends to a movie focusing on a lot of bad guys.

Still, "Sinister Six" appears to at least be in good hands with Goddard, who in fact learned at the ankles of “Avengers” helmer Joss Whedon on shows such as “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and also co-wrote with Whedon the aforementioned “Cabin,” which showed that subverting a genre doesn’t mean you can't make a good movie within its confines too.

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