Sony is making a female superhero movie set in the Amazing Spider-Man universe

After a long string of movies based on characters like Batman, Superman, and Iron Man — with "man" being the operative part of those titles — a major Hollywood studio is finally prepping a female-led superhero movie.

Deadline reports that Sony is currently planning an expansion of its Amazing Spider-Man franchise with an as-yet untitled movie centered on a female Spider-Man character. Lisa Joy Nolan was hired to write the script, and the studio is currently eyeing a release date sometime in 2017. Sony hasn't revealed which character the movie will be centered on, but Deadline lists a number of possibilities, including Spider-Woman, Silver Sable, and Black Cat (who was briefly played by Felicity Jones in The Amazing Spider-Man 2).

The news comes less than a week after Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige demurred on the subject of a female superhero movie. "I very much believe in doing it," Feige said, before explaining that the studio has too many ongoing superhero franchises to introduce another one. "I hope we do it sooner rather than later." Looks like they've been beaten to the punch.

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