Agreed, they can't do a Secret Wars recap. That is the sole purpose of introducing John Jameson into this series. Here is my prediction:

The movie will begin with John Jameson going on a space mission, where he will encounter the symbiote, and bring it back. I suspect the landing may go bad, and Spidey will save the day, picking up the suit in the process. He will then keep the suit for most of the movie, during which he will slowly figure out what it is. Sandman will also be the main villian, because they will use the duration of the movie to develop Eddie Brock's hatred for Spider-Man. Then at the end, Peter will get rid of the suit in the church, where it will find Brock who is about to kill himself, thus leading into the next movie.

This is basically what they did in the cartoon show, but it looks to me that's what they are setting everything up for.

One thing I don't get though, is the fact that they putting Gwen Stacy in this movie. Sam Raimi has said this movie will detract from the comics the most, so Gwen could do anything. Maybe they brought her in so Harry Osburn or maybe even the symbiote can kill her.