It sounds like Sony is caught in its own complicated spider’s web, and asKraven the Hunterdebuts to a commercial and critical panning, there are reports thatSony’s Spider-Man Universe(sometimes called the Sony Pictures Universe of Marvel Pictures) is officially dead. From the promising start ofVenomthrough to J. C. Chandor’sKraven the Hunter, where did theSSUgo wrong?
Kraven the Hunterwas hyped as a big deal because it served as the SSU’s first R-rated movie, but while the Marvel Cinematic Universe’sDeadpool & Wolverinebroke records to become the highest-grossing R-rated movie of all time, Chandor’s comic book caper opened to abox office as low as $11 million. Although the SSU has threeVenommovies,Morbius,Madame Web, andKravenunder its belt, it looks like Sony is pressing pause on all future projects.
The SSU has Always Struggled
After Topher Grace famously played Venom in Sam Raimi’s overstuffedSpider-Man 3, there was plenty of hype when Tom Hardy was announced as Eddie Brock/Venom for a darker take on the brain-munching villain. Hardy was tipped to lead an antihero-led SSU, and with theMCU still hesitant to go down the R-rated route, there were high hopes that the SSU could deliver the blood-soaked Marvel movies many were calling for. Instead, onlyKraven the Hunterhad the elusive rating.
R-rated disappointments aside, there was confusion about where the SSU sits in terms of canon. Alongside the maligned SPUMC designation, Sony’s Amy Pascal and MCU overlord Kevin Feige couldn’t seem to agree on whether the SSU could be considered part of the MCU. Amid arguments over the Spider-Man rights, there was a time in 2019 when it looked like theSpider-Manmovies would have to cut their ties to the MCUand annex Tom Holland’s Web-Head from Iron Man and the rest of the Avengers. Still, with a bulging bible of Spider-Man villains and an expanding slate of ‘Venomverse’ movies, the potential was there.
Instead, the movies of the SSU were largely overshadowed by the idea that Holland would eventually appear (he didn’t). Even before Ruben Fleischer’sVenomreleased in 2018, there was buzz about a potential Holland cameo. There are unsubstantiated reports that Holland filmed a cameo for the movie but it was eventually cut at the request of Marvel Studios. Still, as each newVenommovie came out, fans had their crossover hopes dashed. As recently as 2024, word ofVenom: The Last Dancereshootshad audiences naively hoping for a cameo from Peter Parker.
There were hints of troubles behind the scenes, with Sony forced to use an “in association with Marvel” logo on its SSU movies. It was very much a feeling that the studio was being kept away from the MCU, most notably byVenom: The Last Dancefeeling like it was missing a Spider-Man cameo. If Spider-Man can’t be brought in for the last entry in a trilogy, then he was never likely to appear. More frustratingly, there was a chance to include any number of Spider-Man. Various Easter eggs inMorbiussuggested it was set in the same world as Andrew Garfield’sThe Amazing Spider-Manmovies, which could capitalize on his popularity and the tragic fallout ofThe Amazing Spider-Man 3being canceled.
Instead, the SSU limped forward with increasingly lackluster outings that failed to set the box office alight. It’s true thatVenommade a worldwide gross of $856 million against a budget of around $116 million, but withMadame Webmaking $100.5 million against a reported production budget of $80 million the profit margins were getting tighter. EvenVenom: The Last Dance’s respectable $472.9 million is a far cry from the highs of the original. More than this, not a single entry in the SSU has everscored above a ‘rotten’ scoreon Rotten Tomatoes. With Kraven scraping through numerous delays and accusations its been chopped and changed, it’s tipped to be the end of the SSU.
Is Kraven the Hunter the end of the SSU?
At the time of writing, the SSU is reportedly dead in the water.The Wraphas reported that the SSU has come to an underwhelming end withKraven the Hunter, which is further compounded by the fact the movie had no post-credit scenes or real ties to the wider universe. One Sony insider reportedly told the site:
“The biggest issue with the Sony Spider-Man spinoffs seems to be the lack of quality control. The movies just aren’t good. Sometimes that lack of quality meets a movie no one asked for, which was the case with ‘Madame Web,’ and that is a no-win scenario. It may be time for Sony to start cultivating different IP to launch new franchises.”
The idea now is that Sony will refocus its efforts intoDaniel Destin Cretton’sSpider-Man 4, the delayedBeyond the Spider-Verse, and Nicolas Cage’s live-actionSpider-Man Noir.
There hadn’t been much movement on the Donald Glover-led Hypno-Hustler movie,El Muertoafter Bad Bunny dropped out, nor the indefinitely shelved standalone movie(s) for Black Cat and Silver Sable. It also means the long-predictedSinister Sixmovie likely won’t be happening. It leaves a number of frustrating plot threads likeMichael Keaton’s Adrian Toomes/Vulture fromSpider-Man: Homecomingtrapped in the same universe as Jared Leto’s Michael Morbius. For all its faults,Morbiusat least brought fans the closest to a shared universe.
Unlike the MCU slowly building out with its Phase One movies before culminating inThe Avengers, the SSU threw a kitchen sink of characters and announced projects out there without doing much to tie them together. Despite promises of a shared universe, most felt like standalone outings. Although it’s possible these characters could be folded intoSpider-Man 4with some more Multiversal madness, the studio likely doesn’t want to tarnish the reputation of Tom Holland’s wall-crawling hero. This is further emphasized by the fact Hardy’s Venom ended up in the Earth-616 canon of the mainline MCU duringSpider-Man: No Way Homebut the story was quickly retconned at the start ofThe Last Dance.
Hardy himself has said he’d ‘love’ to fight Holland in the MCU, while Venom could still be saved as akey part of the upcomingAvengers: Secret Wars. For now, the SSU is accused of wasting money and wasting the audience’s time. As the likes of Universal’s Dark Universe and Warner Bros.’ DCEU can attest, not every expanded universe can work like the MCU did. Even the MCU-adjacent SSU struggled to find much meaning, although there are sure to be questions about whether having Holland, Garfield, Tobey Maguire, or a whole new Spider-Man could’ve helped it. At the end of the day, it will always seem off that something would be called the Sony Spider-Man Universe without the man himself.
