Earlier this week, the news broke that Sony and Prime Video are moving forward with a small-screen adaptation of the infamous Spider-Man story, The Clone Saga.
That likely closes the door on that story being brought to the big screen with Tom Holland's Peter Parker, and based on how Spider-Noir renamed its titular web-slinger "Ben Reilly," chances are no version of Peter will show up on streaming.
When the news broke about plans for The Clone Saga, the trades cautioned that fans should brace themselves for "significant changes." While Ben Reilly and Kaine Parker are the series' leads, the reports warned that the clones "could take on new identities."
Now, an update comes from insider @MyTimeToShineH, who confidently states that Ben Reilly will suit up as the Scarlet Spider in the show. Kaine didn't take on that moniker until much later in his life (and long after Ben died), so chances are he'll just be a take on the Kaine we know from those early comics in The Clone Saga series.
Fans expecting a faithful adaptation will likely be disappointed, but that doesn't mean the show doesn't still have serious potential. It sounds like Ben and Kaine will battle villainous clones like Spidercide, though there's likely a 50/50 chance of Clone Saga key players like Norman Osborn and The Jackal showing up. As for Spider-Man, even a nod to him might be expecting too much.
This latest claim comes after Daniel Richtman recently said, "It would be a buddy cop-style show with Ben Reilly and Kaine Parker, kinda like Lanterns. They discover they're clones, which leads to the show's main plot."
Ben Reilly and Kaine are arguably the two most important characters to emerge from Marvel's infamous "Clone Saga." Both were created as clones of Peter Parker by the Jackal, but their lives took very different paths.
Ben, who eventually adopted the Scarlet Spider identity, spent years travelling the country before returning to New York and briefly becoming the main Spider-Man. Kaine, meanwhile, was the first and most genetically unstable of Peter's clones, left physically scarred and embittered by his existence. Over time, however, Kaine evolved into a hero in his own right, most notably taking on the Scarlet Spider mantle in Houston.
This Clone Saga TV show sounds undeniably ambitious and stands a chance of being great if handled the right way. Comic book purists, however, may not appreciate potentially sweeping changes to the divisive 1990s crossover story.
Stay tuned for updates on The Clone Saga as we have them.