Nic Cage's Spider-Noir Proves Why We Still Need Sony's Spider-Man Universe

The archetypal trailer for the Nicolas Cage-led Spider-Noir bid has landed, and it looks… amazingly good? Better than it has immoderate close to be? At the precise least, the trailer itself is simply a amended ticker than immoderate of the live-action films successful Sony’s Spider-Man Universe similar Venom, Morbius, and Madame Web.

In fact, Spider-Noir is shaping up to beryllium a cleanable reminder of wherefore we request the Sony’s Spider-Man Universe franchise successful the archetypal place. This isn’t the MCU, and that’s precisely the point.

Why We Need Sony’s Spider-Man Universe

Now that Disney has absorbed 20th Century Fox and locked up franchises similar X-Men and Fantastic Four, Marvel Studios has a near-total monopoly connected the Marvel movies and TV shows being produced. In immoderate ways, that’s been a bully thing. It’s fixed the MCU a wider excavation of characters from which to draw, and it’s allowed for multiverse-hopping twists similar the Fox X-Men playing a large portion successful the upcoming Avengers: Doomsday.

But there’s nary getting astir the information that the superhero movie pond has shrunk since the Fox acquisition. We present person 1 little workplace releasing Marvel movies, and it’s led to the X-Men fading into the popular civilization inheritance a spot (the hubbub implicit X-Men ‘97 notwithstanding). There was a constituent wherever Fox was attempting to merchandise aggregate X-Men movies a twelvemonth successful nonstop contention with the MCU’s lineup. Now the X-Men are themselves portion of the MCU machine, and it whitethorn beryllium years inactive earlier we spot a rebooted formed of mutant heroes successful that universe.

There was thing to beryllium said for the epoch erstwhile we got movies similar 2014’s X-Men: Days of Future Past and 2017’s Logan alongside the Marvel Studios fare. These were not lone large superhero movies successful their ain right, but they besides offered thing a small antithetic from what Marvel was doing. More options is usually a bully thing.

They’re present the lone crippled successful municipality if you privation a Marvel movie that isn’t crafted with the MCU’s location style.“

Now that Fox’s X-Men beingness has been rolled into the MCU machine, that conscionable leaves Sony disconnected to the broadside inactive doing its ain thing. They’re present the lone crippled successful municipality if you privation a Marvel movie that isn’t crafted with the MCU’s location style. That’s precisely wherefore Sony’s Spider-Man Universe is truthful necessary.

Granted, the evident counterpoint present is that Sony’s Spider-Man Universe has a beauteous mediocre way record. This beingness started disconnected connected mediocre footing with 2018’s Venom and has truly lone gotten worse from there. Fans emotion to mock these Spider-Man-less Spider-Man movies, but they surely don’t crook retired to ticker them. Sony learned that the hard mode erstwhile they foolishly rereleased Morbius successful theaters to capitalize connected the Morbin’ Time memes.

But connected the different hand, determination are the Spider-Verse animated movies. Granted, these don’t technically autumn nether the SSU umbrella, but they’re inactive an illustration of Sony blazing its ain way and crafting thing wholly dissimilar what we’re seeing from the MCU. To accidental that the bid has been palmy would beryllium a large understatement. Both movies are among the champion superhero projects ever released, and outclass thing we’ve gotten from the MCU. They singlehandedly warrant the conception of a abstracted workplace controlling immoderate of Marvel’s IP.

Currently, the SSU seems to beryllium connected beingness enactment pursuing the merchandise of 2024’s Kraven the Hunter. There are nary caller live-action movies connected the horizon, and nary denotation that the Knull tease from 2024’s Venom: The Last Dance volition output anything. Apart from Spider-Noir, the lone different projects Sony seems to beryllium presently processing are much Spider-Verse spinoffs similar 2027’s Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse.

As lousy arsenic the SSU has mostly been, it would beryllium a shame if this shared beingness ended here. Sony tin bash large things with the Spider-Man franchise erstwhile the close ideas and creators are involved. Case successful point: the archetypal 2 Sam Raimi Spider-Man movies. The cinematic satellite is inactive a amended spot if there’s much than 1 food swimming successful the Marvel pond.

The Obvious Secret to Spider-Noir’s Success

By each appearances, Spider-Noir appears to people a large turning constituent for Sony’s live-action Spider-Man output. Unlike the Morbiuses and Madame Webs of the world, it really looks good. Showrunners Oren Uziel and Steve Lightfoot intelligibly person a imaginativeness for this stylish universe, and they aren’t acrophobic to execute connected that vision. And arsenic eyebrow-raising arsenic the thought of Nic Cage playing a live-action Spider-Man whitethorn be, the trailer suggests the bid is striking conscionable the close code with that casting choice.

It helps that Spider-Noir has a precise evident vantage implicit the SSU movies. It’s a Spider-Man amusement that really features Spider-Man. Clearly, Sony had to crook a small to conscionable the presumption of immoderate labyrinthine statement they’ve got going connected with Marvel. Cage isn’t playing Peter Parker, but Ben Reilly. Similarly, Li Jun Li isn’t playing Black Cat, but much of a Black Cat-inspired femme fatale named Cat Hardy. But this is inactive a bid astir a spider-powered leader who dons a disguise and swings done the New York skyline. Compared to the SSU movies, which mostly bent implicit backwards to debar straight referencing Spider-Man, this is simply a existent enactment of caller air.

The bid suggests that this is the way guardant for Sony. However they negociate it, they request to pivot to making movies and shows that really absorption connected Spider-Man, alternatively than giving america lukewarm root stories for villains with each the Spider-Man connections stripped away. If the beingness of Tom Holland’s Peter Parker successful the MCU makes the quality a no-go successful the SSU, past bash what Spider-Noir is doing and diagnostic alternate beingness versions of the quality instead. Heck, physique a shared beingness astir Spider-Gwen.

Again, Sony is susceptible of doing large things with the Spider-Man franchise. The instrumentality is putting that franchise successful the hands of creators who recognize it and giving them the state to spell wild. The SSU movies to day person felt similar the effect of workplace executives trying to clinically exploit disposable IP, not creators trying to archer earnest stories. Spider-Noir, astatine least, feels similar an illustration of the latter.

Hopefully, Spider-Noir represents not the past gasp of Sony’s efforts to trade its ain live-action Marvel franchise, but the commencement of thing overmuch antithetic and overmuch better. If we’re lucky, we’ll spot much live-action movies announced that instrumentality a much creator- and character-driven attack to Spider-Man’s world. We don’t peculiarly attraction if Sony continues the continuity established successful the erstwhile SSU films (in fact, it mightiness beryllium champion to ditch that and commencement from scratch). What matters is that we inactive person a workplace retired determination crafting Marvel movies that isn’t Marvel itself. There’s country capable successful Hollywood for the some of them, and the fans lone payment from having much options.

For more, brushwood up connected each Spider-Man movie and bid successful development.

Jesse is simply a mild-mannered unit writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intelligence thicket by following @jschedeen connected BlueSky.