The Secret to Rebooting the Failed Sony Spider-Man Universe

With Spider-Man: Brand New Day launching successful conscionable a fewer months connected July 31, 2026, it’s an breathtaking clip to beryllium a Spider-Man fan. The Tom Holland-led franchise volition go the archetypal live-action iteration of Peter Parker to person 4 solo films, and volition hopefully proceed to beryllium a portion of the MCU for the foreseeable future. We're besides presently acceptable to spot the 3rd animated Spider-Verse entry, Beyond the Spider-Verse, connected June 18, 2027, barring immoderate further delays. But portion there’s crushed to beryllium optimistic for the aboriginal of Spider-Man movies, we’ve besides conscionable received quality of a imaginable acheronian shadow: Sony Pictures CEO Tom Rothman has confirmed that the workplace intends to reboot their Sony Spider-Man Universe of spin-off films that precocious crashed and burned with the failures of Madame Web and Kraven the Hunter.

Sony’s spin-offs person mostly been savaged by critics, and they didn’t bash good astatine the container bureau extracurricular of the Venom trilogy. Given however small of an interaction the movies person made contempt being (somewhat) tied to Marvel’s astir fashionable hero, it stands to crushed that a alteration of attack is needed beyond conscionable rebooting the franchise oregon hiring a caller originative team. If Sony is superior astir taking different stab astatine a spin-off universe, they request to halt moving backwards by forcing villains into the roles of protagonists, and alternatively fto existent heroes pb their superhero movies. Let’s instrumentality a look astatine however Sony’s Spider-Man Universe tin marque the 2nd (or 3rd oregon fourth) clip the charm.

Paging Mr. Parker

The biggest vexation from fans successful regards to Sony’s Spider-Man movies is that they simply ne'er featured Spider-Man. We knew going into the archetypal Venom movie that Eddie Brock wasn’t going to brushwood Peter Parker, but the anticipation was that the 2 mortal enemies would possibly travel to blows successful 1 of the sequels. Venom: Let There Be Carnage’s post-credits country adjacent teased the possibility, lone for it to beryllium nixed by Spider-Man: No Way Home. Venom: The Last Dance acceptable up the symbiote deity Knull arsenic a imaginable aboriginal threat, but present that we cognize a reboot is connected the way, that thread isn’t going anyplace either. It truly feels similar the Venom trilogy gaslit fans by making them deliberation we were going to spot a showdown betwixt Spidey and Venom, lone for the second to beryllium stuck exclusively warring different symbiotes and abstraction monsters.

No substance however you consciousness astir the prime of the Venom solo films, the information remains that Venom ne'er crossing implicit with Spidey was the trilogy’s biggest missed opportunity. There’s a agelong past of Venom solo comics that developed his ain mythology and supporting formed isolated from the partition crawler, but helium debuted arsenic an important facet of Spidey’s world, truthful it feels weird that the leader tied to Venom’s genesis is obscurity to beryllium seen. We don’t cognize each of the specifics of the woody Sony and Marvel Studios person successful regards to sharing Spider-Man’s movie rights, truthful it’s plausible that determination are ineligible obstacles preventing specified a crossover. But surely it’s thing that could beryllium ironed retired if Sony was superior astir making their spin-off films the champion that they could be.

What we do cognize is that Marvel intends to reset the MCU aft Avengers: Secret Wars, truthful possibly caller spin-offs could beryllium developed successful person collaboration with Marvel, allowing Tom Holland’s Spider-Man – presuming he’s kept astir post-reset, though we’d wager helium volition beryllium – to look successful them. Junking the likes of Morbius, Madame Web, and Kraven, and starting caller mightiness marque Marvel much consenting to fto Sony’s movies into the MCU continuity, particularly since the Raimi and Webb films – and the Fox X-Men franchise – person been shanghaied into the shared beingness via the multiverse successful No Way Home and Deadpool & Wolverine. However, it’s conscionable arsenic apt that Marvel volition proceed to privation to region Holland’s Peter Parker from Sony’s broadside projects...but that’s nary crushed to springiness up entirely. They conscionable request to displacement absorption to antithetic Spider-Heroes, of which determination are much than capable to take from.

Holding Out For a Hero

We’ve discussed antecedently astatine IGN that Sony putting truthful galore villains into starring roles was a immense portion of what doomed their archetypal effort astatine a shared universe. By taking antagonists and making them travel milquetoast 'hero’s journey' plots, they made boring films that didn’t recognize why those characters worked successful the archetypal root material. Even the 1 movie that did star a heroic character, Madame Web, was a bizarre messiness that made its pb astir unrecognizable from her comic publication counterpart. The archetypal measurement successful gathering a caller Spider-Man beingness is knowing that it’s imaginable to marque Spider-Man movies without Peter Parker, but not if they prima villains oregon broadside characters who consciousness intrinsically tied to him.

If they support the absorption connected characters who really marque consciousness arsenic protagonists, Sony's spin-offs could apt find success.“

There are aggregate different Spider-Heroes with agelong histories successful the comic books who could beryllium the leads of spin-off films. Miguel O’Hara, aka Spider-Man 2099, had a solo comic that ran for astir 50 issues successful the 1990s. Audiences were already introduced to Miguel successful thing of an antagonistic relation successful Across the Spider-Verse, but you could easy marque a movie oregon adjacent bid of films with him arsenic the main leader that sticks person to Miguel’s property from the comics. Likewise, Spider-Gwen aka Spider-Woman aka Ghost-Spider (they should truly conscionable prime a sanction for her already) has go hugely fashionable implicit the past decade, and could enactment a solo task that depicts the youth-oriented tales emblematic of Spider-Man films via a antithetic lens.

The MC2 beingness besides gave america May "Mayday" Parker, aka Spider-Girl, the girl of Peter Parker and Mary Jane. Audiences really got to spot an babe mentation of Mayday successful Across the Spider-Verse. A movie oregon amusement starring her successful her premier could fto america spot Peter arsenic a parental fig portion besides keeping the classical consciousness of Spider-Man stories intact. It’s not similar Sony doesn’t recognize the thought I’m positing here: They made Miles Morales the absorption of their Spider-Verse trilogy, with Peter B. Parker arsenic a supporting hero, and they're tackling an alternate world bid with Spider-Noir, albeit with that quality renamed Ben Reilly alternatively of Peter Parker. If they support the absorption connected characters who really marque consciousness arsenic protagonists, their spin-offs could apt find success, but it would besides impact treating these characters with the respect they deserve...something that hasn’t ever been Sony’s strongest suit.

Sony's Spider-Noir amusement volition hopefully beryllium a measurement successful the close direction.

You Won’t Get It For Free

An under-discussed facet of wherefore Sony’s adaptations of Spider-Man person taken a batch of flack implicit the years is what feels similar a firm presumption that radical volition ever crook retired for worldly that features the Spider-Man marque careless of quality. It’s existent that Spider-Man is 1 of the astir beloved fictional heroes connected Earth, but that doesn’t mean that thing with his sanction and look stamped connected it is simply a guaranteed success. From interfering with manager Sam Raimi’s imaginativeness for Spider-Man 3 to rapidly rebooting the franchise with slapdash scripts successful the Amazing Spider-Man films to believing that spin-offs astir Morbius oregon Kraven were definite bets conscionable due to the fact that they were Spider-Man-adjacent characters, Sony has often changeable themselves successful the ft by taking their entree to the Spider-Man licence for granted.

That’s not to accidental that they’re incapable of making bully decisions oregon producing large movies with the property. Sam Raimi’s archetypal 2 Spider-Man films were landmark achievements that helped acceptable the signifier for the comic publication movie roar of the aboriginal 2000s. The Spider-Verse animated features are brimming with originative vigor and beardown storytelling instincts. And though the Tom Holland solo movies bash person immoderate drawbacks, Sony has benefited tremendously from swallowing their pridefulness and allowing Marvel to incorporated Spider-Man into the MCU erstwhile they didn’t have to bash that. The information that Sony acceptable speech their plans for The Amazing Spider-Man 3 and 4, a Sinister Six movie, and a team-up movie with Silver Sable and Black Cat proves that they’re susceptible of taking a measurement backmost and reevaluating their path.

Audiences rejected the Sony Spider-Man Universe; there’s truly nary getting astir that. Beyond Venom being an incredibly fashionable and merchandisable character, the remainder of Sony’s spin-off slate struggled to summation immoderate momentum. But that doesn’t mean it isn’t imaginable to crook things around. With talented creatives who are fixed country to marque the movies they privation to make, a absorption connected heroic characters successful the pb roles, and the grace to recognize that audiences volition permission your franchise down if they don’t consciousness it’s worthy their time, Sony could marque a caller effort astatine a shared beingness work. Will they, though? We’ll conscionable person to hold and spot successful the future. "And you cognize the champion happening astir the future? It hasn't happened yet."

What bash you deliberation Sony should bash with a reboot of their Spider-Man spin-offs? Let america cognize successful the comments!

Carlos Morales writes novels, articles, and Mass Effect essays. You tin travel his fixations connected Twitter.