Just because Marvel and Sony came up with a new arrangement to keep Spider-Man in the Marvel Cinematic Universe doesn’t mean the latter studio, which still holds the film rights to the Web-Slinger’s mythology, doesn’t have its own plans for the character. Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige has said that Spidey is “the only hero with the superpower to cross cinematic universes,” leading to speculation that Sony will somehow incorporate Tom Holland’s iteration of the hero into its own shared Marvel universe.
According to Venom director Ruben Fleischer, that’s exactly what’s on the horizon. As he put it:
That’s where it’s all going to lead. And that’s the exciting thing, because we changed the origin of Venom … in the comics, he evolved from Spider-Man but because of the Marvel-Sony thing we weren’t able to that. And so the thing I think it’s building towards, and will be exciting to see, is when they actually do confront each other.
When Marvel and Sony started collaborating on Spider-Man, that means that while Sony was establishing its own franchise filled with Spider-Man characters, they couldn’t include the hero who’s responsible for all these other characters existing, hence why Venom’s origin story was drastically altered. Now, however, in the wake of Marvel and Disney coming back together on Spider-Man following nearly a month-long split, Ruben Fleischer has heard that eventually the current cinematic versions of Spidey and Venom will clash someday.
Ruben Fleischer didn’t get into any specifics about how this will happen while speaking with Fandom, but presumably it has something to do with whatever new deal Marvel and Sony agreed on. Although Tom Holland’s Spider-Man is set to lead another MCU-set standalone movie and appear in a separate Marvel Studios movie, perhaps there’s a new stipulation allowing for Sony to eventually include Holland’s Spidey into its own Marvel universe affairs.
Considering that Doctor Strange and Avengers: Endgame have already established the multiverse and parallel realities (plus Mysterio lying about being from another Earth in Spider-Man: Far From Home), enough comic book-y groundwork has been laid that Spider-Man could be thrown into another universe. There’s also the possibility that Sony’s Marvel universe could be retroactively made to exist within the main MCU continuity, but considering Kevin Feige’s wording about Spidey crossing cinematic universes, I suspect that won’t be the case.
We’ll just have to wait and see when Spider-Man will be dropped into the Sony Marvel universe, or at least get official confirmation straight from Sony on the matter. Fortunately for that franchise, there’s enough on its plate to keep busy for the near future.
Next up is the Jared Leto-led Morbius, marking the first time the vampiric anti-hero is being adapted for live action. Then Venom 2 will see Ediie Brock fighting Woody Harrelson’s Cletus Kasady, who will transform into Carnage. Other Sony Marvel universe projects in development include Nightwatch, Black Cat, Silver Sable and Madame Web. Plus, Sony has the animated front covered through its Spider-Verse franchise.
For now, the next live action Spider-Man movie is set for release on July 16, 2021, so keep checking back with CinemaBlend for more updates on its development. Don’t forget to look through our Marvel movies guide to learn what else is coming up in Phase 4 and beyond.
