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We almost had it. Seriously. Fans of the web-slinger have been waiting decades to see a proper, leather-clad Felicia Hardy grace the big screen, and for a fleeting moment in 2014, it looked like it was happening. If you blink, you might miss her, but Black Cat in The Amazing Spider Man 2 is technically a reality, even if she’s mostly just "Felicia" the executive assistant.
It's weird.
Sony was so busy building a cinematic universe to rival Marvel that they planted seeds everywhere. Most of those seeds never sprouted. Felicia Hardy, played by the talented Felicity Jones, is perhaps the most frustrating example of this "franchise-first" storytelling. She appears in a handful of scenes, looking sharp and professional, but the claws never come out.
Who Was Felicia Hardy in the Webb-Verse?
Let’s get the facts straight. In the context of The Amazing Spider-Man 2, Felicia isn't a burglar. Not yet. She is introduced as Harry Osborn's assistant at Oscorp. When Harry takes over the company following Norman's death, Felicia is the one who informs him about the "Special Projects" division.
She knows too much. Honestly, the movie hints that she’s been privy to Norman’s darkest secrets for a while. There’s a specific scene where Harry is being ousted by the board, and Felicia stands by him, looking notably more capable than anyone else in the room. Felicity Jones brings this cool, calculating energy to the role that screams "I have a suit hidden in my apartment," but the script keeps her tethered to a desk.
Director Marc Webb and writers Jeff Pinkner, Scott Rosenberg, and Roberto Orci were clearly playing the long game. They weren't just making a sequel; they were making a prequel to a Sinister Six movie and a Black Cat spin-off.
The Costume That Never Was
The internet is littered with concept art. If you look up the production designs for the cancelled Amazing Spider-Man 3, you’ll see what we missed out on. There were designs for a tactical, sleek suit that moved away from the campy fur-collars of the comics and toward something more grounded.
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It would have been a massive shift for the character. In the comics, Felicia Hardy is the daughter of a world-renowned cat burglar. She trains herself to follow in his footsteps, eventually crossing paths with Spider-Man and starting one of the most complicated "will-they-won't-they" relationships in comic history.
In the movie? She’s just Felicia. No mask. No bad luck powers. Just a woman who knows where the secret files are kept.
Why didn't they just put her in the suit? Well, the movie was already overstuffed. You had Electro, Green Goblin, and a weirdly shoehorned Rhino. Adding a fourth villain—or anti-hero—would have turned a crowded movie into a total disaster. Sony learned that lesson the hard way with Spider-Man 3, yet they almost repeated it here.
The Canceled Spin-offs and "Silver & Black"
After the lukewarm reception of The Amazing Spider-Man 2, Sony’s grand plans started to crumble. We were supposed to get a movie titled Silver & Black, featuring Felicia Hardy and Silver Sable. It went through "development hell" for years. Directors came and went. Scripts were rewritten.
Eventually, the project was scrapped in favor of solo films, none of which have actually featured Felicia Hardy yet. It’s a shame. Felicity Jones has since gone on to lead Star Wars movies and win accolades, but she’s gone on record saying she’d still love to play the character.
Why Black Cat Matters to the Spider-Man Mythos
Spider-Man needs Black Cat. Peter Parker has Mary Jane—the girl next door, the moral compass, the "soulmate." But Spider-Man? Spider-Man has Felicia.
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She is the only person who loves the mask more than the man. In most iterations, Felicia isn't interested in Peter Parker; she finds him boring. She wants the guy who swings between skyscrapers. That dynamic provides a level of psychological depth that The Amazing Spider-Man 2 barely scratched.
By making her Harry’s assistant, the movie positioned her as a potential double agent. Imagine a third film where she helps Peter find information on Oscorp by night, while flirtatiously robbing him blind. That’s the movie we deserved. Instead, we got a cliffhanger that led nowhere.
Setting the Record Straight on the "Leaked" Footage
You might have seen "leaked" footage on YouTube of Black Cat fighting Spider-Man in the 2014 movie.
It’s fake.
Most of those videos are clever fan edits or footage from the Amazing Spider-Man 2 video game, where Black Cat actually is a major character. In the game, voiced by Erica Lindbeck, Felicia has a full arc involving her father and a confrontation with Peter. It’s actually quite good. It’s ironic that the tie-in game handled the character better than the multi-million dollar blockbuster.
What Really Happened Behind the Scenes
Production on the film was chaotic. We know that several subplots were trimmed to keep the runtime under control. Shailene Woodley’s Mary Jane Watson was cut entirely. Felicia Hardy survived the edit, but only barely.
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The decision to keep her in the film was purely tactical. Sony wanted the audience to recognize the name "Felicia" and get excited for the future. It’s a classic case of "Easter Egg Marketing" gone wrong. When you promise a character like Black Cat and only deliver an assistant in a blazer, fans feel cheated.
Looking Ahead: Will We Ever See Her Again?
With the Multiverse now a staple of the MCU and Sony’s Spider-Man Universe (SSU), the door isn't closed. We’ve seen Andrew Garfield return in No Way Home. There is a non-zero chance we see Felicity Jones return to finish what she started.
However, rumors currently suggest that if Black Cat appears in the next Tom Holland Spider-Man film, she’ll be recast with a younger actress to match his age. Sydney Sweeney was a popular fan-cast for a while, though she ended up playing Spider-Woman in the ill-fated Madame Web.
The character is currently in a state of limbo. She’s too popular to ignore, but seemingly too difficult for studios to get "right" on the first try.
Actionable Insights for Fans and Collectors
If you are a fan of this specific era of Spider-Man media, there are a few things you can do to experience the Black Cat story that the movie failed to tell:
- Play the Video Game: The Amazing Spider-Man 2 game (available on PS4/Xbox One) features the full Felicia Hardy / Black Cat arc that was intended for the films.
- Check the Concept Art: Look for the book The Art of The Amazing Spider-Man 2. It contains the visual evolution of the characters and hints at what the future films would have looked like.
- Read the Tie-In Comics: Marvel released several "prequel" comics for the Webb-verse that flesh out the world of Oscorp and the characters inhabiting it.
- Watch the Deleted Scenes: While there isn't a "secret" scene of her in costume, the deleted scenes on the Blu-ray offer a bit more context to her relationship with Harry Osborn.
The tragedy of Black Cat in this franchise is that the potential was astronomical. We had the right actress and the right tone, but the wrong timing. Until she finally hits the screen in full costume, this version remains a fascinating "what if" in the history of superhero cinema.