The Amazing Spider-Man spinoffs for Venom and the Sinister Six officially announced

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 does not hit theaters until May 2 but the news about the film continually pointed to a gradual expansion of the franchise's universe and many fans expected that the Sinister Six, the group of villains that Spider-Man battles repeatedly in the comics, would appear in a future installment.

Venom, too, became a popular topic of discussion for a spinoff film as he is one of the more widely known and beloved characters in the Spider-Man universe. It was unclear how or if either of these elements would be introduced into The Amazing Spider-Man franchise until now.

Columbia Pictures has issued a press release (link via Screen Rant) confirming that Venom and the Sinister Six would each receive their own films. The plan calls for The Amazing Spider-Man 3 to go into production in Fall 2014 so that the movie can release on June 10, 2016. Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci and David Solomon will write the Venom script and Kurtzman will direct. Finally, Drew Goddard will write the Sinister Six script, which more than likely will not go into production until after 2015.

It's unclear at the moment which version of Venom would appear in the film (Eddie Brock, Flash Thompson, etc.) or how Venom would be portrayed (alien symbiote, science experiment gone wrong, etc.). It's also unknown if Spider-Man will fight the Sinister Six in the movie or what the plot of the already announced The Amazing Spider-Man 4 would be now that these spinoffs have been announced.

It's a lot to process, so check back with MStars as the news unfolds.