The fans following the progress of Spider-Man’s on-screen universe have a few items on their Wish List of things they would like to see. Some version of The Sinister Six has been in conversation for several years now. The return of a proper Norman Osborn is probably near the top of the list. But more than anything else, Spider-Man fans appear to want to see the wall-crawler cross over with the Tom Hardy Venom franchise, allowing Spidey (whether Tom Holland or someone else) to go toe-to-toe with a terrifying symbiote. Well, according to his latest comments, Hardy wants that, too. Very much.
Tom Hardy has worked hard to craft an on-screen version of Eddie Brock and Venom that work really well for the audience members (yet not quite as well with critics). The duo will hold down an upcoming sequel, Venom: Let There Be Carnage, and while doing some press for that movie, Hardy was asked by Esquire about the possibility of bringing Spider-Man into his world. Hardy, ever the diplomat, showed his hand while also playing coy, saying:
I would be remiss if I wasn’t trying to steer any kind of connectivity. I wouldn’t be doing the job if I wasn’t awake and open to any opportunity or eventuality or be excited by that. Obviously, that’s a large canyon to leap, to be bridged by one person alone, and it would take a much higher level of diplomacy and intelligence, sitting down and talking, to take on an arena such as that.
This “diplomacy” that he speaks of would have to take place between Sony Pictures, the studio who owns the rights to Spider-Man, and Marvel Studios -- the studio to which the character is being lent, for at least one more movie. Spider-Man: No Way Home is the third joint collaboration between Sony and Marvel, and while their unprecedented deal can extend beyond it, right now, Spidey’s free to return to Sony after No Way Home.
Hardy seems to address the need to please two powerful movie studios when he continues:
Should both sides be willing, and it be beneficial to both sides, I don’t see why it couldn’t be. I hope and strongly, with both hands, push, eagerly, towards that potential, and would do anything to make that happen, within what’s right in business. But it would be foolish not to head towards the Olympic Games if you were running 100 metres, so yeah! I want to play on that field.
As do we all. Also, as I pointed out in a recent column, the potential existence of the Multiverse, and its introduction to the MCU, makes it that much easier for Tom Holland to depart Marvel and land in Sony’s ever-growing cinematic universe. That world now includes Morbius (Jared Leto), Kraven the Hunter (Aaron Taylor Johnson) and possibly a version of The Vulture (Michael Keaton). There’s a lot, already, to build on. But will it happen? As Tom Hardy says, that’s up to the audience, and the studios in charge.
So, if you want to see this, head to the theaters and support Venom: Let There Be Carnage, Morbius, and Spider-Man: No Way Home when they screen for audiences. The potential for a massive Spidey universe is here. We just need to seize it.
