Spider-Noir may have been canceled rather abruptly, but that doesn’t mean Sony is done developing live-action series based on the Spider-Man IP. According to a report coming from Deadline, Sony and Prime Video are in the early stage of creating a series based on one of the most controversial (and often hated) Spider-Man comic book stories of all time: the Clone Saga. This storyline literally ran for two years in the comics back in the mid-’90s, and saw Peter Parker replaced as Spider-Man by his own clone, Ben Reilly. Another clone, Kaine Parker, also first appears in this story. Fans don’t view it as a high point for Spidey as a character, but apparently, Sony sees opportunity in this storyline.
The new series is being written and developed by written by American Born Chinese creator Kelvin Yu. Apparently, the series would follow Ben and Kaine “as they grapple with their newly discovered identities as clones while also facing other clones.” One of those clones could be Spidercide, an actual evil clone of Peter Parker. Marvel’s Ultimate line of comics in the 2000s also adapted the Clone Saga, which introduced a female clone of Spider-Man, which is something the series could also adapt.
The seeds of the Clone Saga go back to the mid-’70s. In a two part story, the villainous Jackal cloned Spider-Man, complete with memories and all of his powers. That clone seemingly died at the end of that story. But two decades later, Marvel revealed he didn’t die, and simply went into hiding. He dyed his hair blonde, and changed his name to Ben Reilly. He took on a new superheroic identity, the Scarlet Spider. This name comes from his late Uncle Ben, and his Aunt May’s maiden name of Reilly. The Clone Saga also introduced a darker Peter clone named Kaine Parker.
Eventually, Marvel Comics revealed he, Ben Reilly, was the true Peter Parker, and the Spidey fans had been reading about for two decades (who married MJ) was the clone. Ben officially took over as Spider-Man. And fans hated it. Marvel reversed its decision in 1996, and revealed that the Peter Parker of the past two decades was the true Spider-Man after all, and Ben Reilly died. But, even the most hated elements of ’90s comics find themselves reevaluated over time. In recent years, Ben Reilly has returned, and he even appeared in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse in a small role.
Nerdist’s Take: We Think Making a Spider-Man Clone Saga Without Using Spider-Man Will Be a Very Tall Order
We can’t help but wonder what this means for the series. If these are two clones of Peter Parker, shouldn’t they look exactly like Tom Holland? Or, if it takes place in the Andrew Garfield universe, shouldn’t they look like him? How much impact can the show have if they are clones of a Peter Parker we’ve never met before? We know that the Sony live-action shows can’t actually use the name “Spider-Man.” So we’d bet this show is called Scarlet Spider. But adapting a saga about Peter Parker’s clones without being able to use Peter Parker himself? This seems like a fool’s errand. But hey, people really loved Spider-Man: No Way Home, which was partially based on a very hated Spidey storyline. Maybe this despised storyline can find redemption in live-action too.
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