So far as the big screen goes, Spider-Man is in a weird place right now. Tom Holland has played the web-slinger in several movies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but technically Marvel doesn’t have the screen rights to the character; Sony does. The studios basically share custody of Spider-Man, but Sony has the rights to all Spider-Man-adjacent characters like Venom and Morbius, which is why those movies won’t feature Holland’s Spider-Man even though they’re part of Peter Parker’s story in the comics.
“We don’t really think of our 900 characters as the Spidey-verse,” Sony Pictures executive Sanford Panitch told Variety. “We have a Marvel universe. The volume of characters we have — you know, wait until you see this next Venom. You don’t miss Spider-Man.”
Okay, that’s great and everything, but are there any plans for Spider-Man to meet up with all these other characters? Sony recently announced it was moving forward on a movie about Spider-Man villain Kraven the Hunter, who will be played by Aaron Taylor-Johnson. What’s it gonna be about if Spider-Man isn’t involved?
Spider-Man: No Way Home could yoke together the MCU and Sony’s Marvel-verse
While movies like Venom have found success without Spider-Man, it sounds like there could be some crossover in the future. “There actually is a plan,” Panitch said. “I think now maybe it’s getting a little more clear for people where we’re headed and I think when No Way Home comes out, even more will be revealed.”
Spider-Man: No Way Home is Tom Holland’s next solo outing as Peter Parker. It’s pretty well known that the movie will involve the multiverse, and there are lots of reports of far-flung characters who will make an appearance. It’s possible that the movie will set up a scenario where Holland’s Spider-Man can finally interact with the characters under Sony’s umbrella and remain part of the MCU at the same time. In the multiverse, anything can happen.
“The great thing is we have this very excellent relationship with ,” Panitch continued. “There’s an incredible sandbox there to play with. We want those MCU movies to be absolutely huge, because that’s great for us and our Marvel characters, and I think that’s the same thing on their side. But we have a great relationship. There’s lots of opportunities, I think, that are going to happen.”
Spider-Man: No Way Home comes out on December 17, 2021.
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