Donald Glover To Spearhead 'Spider-Man' Movie Spinoff, 'Hypno-Hustler'

Emmy award-winning actor Donald Glover is returning to the "Spider-Man" universe, and this time in a starring role. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the "Atlanta" star will produce and star in a planned movie based on the Marvel Comics character, Hypno-Hustler.

The new movie will be set in Sony Pictures' "Spider-Man" movie universe.

Myles Murphy, son of actor and comedian Eddie Murphy, will write the script for the project. The film is currently untitled, but it will reportedly revolve around the obscure Spider-Man rogues' gallery villain, Hypno-Hustler.

Hypno-Hustler was created by Bill Mantlo and Frank Springer, making his first appearance in "Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man" Issue No. 24 in November 1978. Hypo-Hustler, aka Antoine Delsoin, was also the band leader of the Mercy Killers and used hypnotic technology in his instruments to rob his audience.

THR reports that Glover liked the musical aspect of the character and was interested in the more obscure villain having less baggage to Marvel Comics canon. As a result, Glover believes using a more obscure Spidey villain will offer more creative freedom for his interpretations of the character.

THR also notes that this means the project could range from being  a disco music era period piece, or the character could be reimagined as a modern hip-hop update or even a more futuristic cyberpunk version. Glover was also said to be interested in Murphy's take on the character, but details are being kept secret for now.

Glover made an appearance before in the MCU "Spider-Man" series. He portrayed the character of Aaron Davis in 2017's "Spider-Man: Homecoming" opposite Tom Holland. In the comics, Aaron Davis is also the alias of The Prowler from the "Ultimate Spider-Man" comics series. However, Glover never donned the costume and identity of The Prowler in any of the "Spider-Man" films starring Holland.

Fans had actually campaigned for Glover to play the Miles Morales iteration of Spider-Man on the big screen when Sony Pictures rebooted the franchise as "The Amazing Spider-Man." However, the role of Peter Parker ultimately went to Andrew Garfield for the reboot.

Glover did get the opportunity to voice the character of Miles Morales later on in the animated "Ultimate Spider-Man" series on Disney XD in the show's third season that aired in 2015.

Glover's Hypno-Hustler is the latest planned "Spider-Man" movie spinoff from Sony Pictures. The next spinoff due out in theaters is "Kraven the Hunter," starring Aaron Taylor-Johnson, which arrives in theaters on October 6, 2023. Another spinoff in the works is "Madame Web," starring Dakota Johnson and Sydney Sweeney, which arrives on February 16, 2024.

A third "Venom" movie starring Tom Hardy has also been announced by Sony Pictures. It does not yet have an official release date.

While the "Venom" movies did good business for Sony, it remains to be seen if the studio will be able to achieve similar success with the other planned "Spider-Man" spinoffs. "Morbius," released earlier this year, did badly with critics, rating only 15% on Rotten Tomatoes. It only ended up making $73 million at the domestic box office.

Glover's "Hypno-Hustler" movie is still in the development stages. It does not yet have an official release date.