Amazon Drops ‘Silk: Spider Society’: Inside The Decision

Silk: Spider Society has officially been scrapped at Amazon Studios. This series has dealt with numerous issues since it was officially greenlit in November 2022. 

In 2019, Sony Pictures Television commissioned Lauren Moon to write a TV adaptation of Silk: Spider Society. The comic book run is centered on Cindy Moon, a Korean-American woman who was bitten by the same spider that bit Peter Parker, also known as Spider-Man. After escaping confinement, she transforms into the superhero, Silk, while searching for her missing family.

In 2020, this spinoff series was officially announced, and Silk was ordered for MGM+ and Prime Video with Angela Kang, a respected alumna of The Walking Dead, as the new writer, executive producer, and showrunner. Phil Lord and Chris Miller of Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse and Amy Pascal, a producer of the Spider-Man franchise, were appointed as executive producers for Sony Pictures TV and Amazon MGM Studios. 

Production Hurdles and Strategic Shifts Lead to Amazon’s Decision

Despite receiving the green light based on its script, which went through three different rewrites, the series encountered more problems. One significant rewrite involved Kang and her team reconfiguring the show to not rely so heavily on Silk, the main character.

After reviewing the material, Amazon executives postponed the reopening of the Silk writers’ room following the strike in the fall, which led to criticism from the Writers Guild of America. Sources suggest that Kang’s latest pitch was well received. However, after a discussion on where to allocate resources on genre IP projects — which are known to be costly —, a decision was made to proceed with Noir, starring Nicolas Cage, and to put Silk on hold. 

Recently, superhero movies featuring female leads have faced hurdles, including Sony Picture’s Spider-Man offshoot Madame Web and Marvel Studios’ The Marvels. This trend has extended to genre television, with Prime Video deciding not to continue with a second season of its prominent sci-fi series, The Peripheral. Despite the cancellation, Kang will continue to work under a multi-year overall deal she had signed with Amazon MGM Studios. Sony is planning to pitch the series to other potential buyers with Phil Lord, Christopher Miller, and Amy Pascal attached as executive producers.

What A Silk Loss Means for Amazon

It would be an understatement to say that this news is disappointing to many, if not entirely surprising given the production shifts following the WGA strike. It is disheartening to see such a promising series lose a potential home. Amazon has been making decisions to focus more on television series that are popular among a male-centric audience. This was one of the changes that Amazon executives wanted to make with the Silk series before deciding to scrap the series altogether.

Television programs like The Boys, Reacher, Jack Ryan, and Invincible, just to name a few, have become household hits on the streaming platform. With dynamic writing, strong viewership numbers, and overwhelming critical acclaim, it makes sense to focus on investing in content that has proven to be successful. However, this strategy has also led to the cancellation of other popular shows such as A League of Their Own, Paper Girls, and The Wilds. These are shows that have also been met with rave reviews from critics and Prime Video audiences alike. Focusing predominantly on content that appeals to a specific demographic may eventually limit the platform’s diversity and creative appeal.

Source: Deadline