In 2014, Sony planned to launch a cinematic universe of its own by stuffing The Amazing Spider-Man 2 full of nods to the webslinger’s iconic rogues gallery, laying the breadcrumbs for a Sinister Six film. However, with Andrew Garfield’s second outing proving to be an even bigger disaster than Spider-Man 3, these plans were pushed to the wayside in favour of yet another reboot, this time in partnership with the MCU.
Tom Holland’s turn as the wallcrawler would prove to be an unprecedented success, making billions at the box office. Yet, behind the scenes, the allure of villain spin-offs called to Sony like the Green Goblin mask to Norman Osborn: before long, it would greenlight the first Venom film, marking the beginning of SUMC.
Every single entry thus far has been a critical flop, with Morbius being such a trainwreck that fans collectively gaslit Sony into re-releasing the film, only for nobody to show up. It was an embarassing few years, to say the least, with the SUMC accruing an average critic score of just 28.5 percent on Rotten Tomatoes. But it might finally be over.
Sony Is Reportedly “More Open” To Sharing Spider-Man Characters With The MCU
According to reputable leaker Daniel Richtman, Sony is now “more open” to sharing its Spider-Man characters with Marvel Studios after cancelling the Olivia Wilde-helmed Spider-Woman film. This follows the cancellation of El Muerto and the end of the Venom trilogy, while Hypno-Hustler, Nightwatch, Jackpot, and Silver and Black remain AWOL after years of radio silence.
It’s hardly surprising given the disastrous box office performance of the non-Venom films, with Kraven pulling in just $62 million on a $110 million budget, whereas Sony’s collaborations with the MCU are almost guaranteed to be box office hits. Even in Marvel Studios’ post-Endgame slump, the anticipation bubbling around Brand New Day is palpable, with behind-the-scenes footage alone going viral as everyone waits with baited breath for the wallcrawler to finally cross paths with the Punisher in a street-level throwdown.
Spider-Verse is thankfully separate to Sony’s misguided universe of Spider-Man villains without Spider-Man, and so the Spider-Noir series is still going ahead.
Up until now, the collaboration between Sony and Marvel Studios has meant an MCU hero appearing in each Spider-Man film, and Spider-Man appearing in the Avengers, but with SUMC presumably dead and Sony more willing to play ball, we could see the wallcrawler’s villains appear elsewhere. Plenty of his rogues have history with other heroes, after all. For a rough idea of what this might look like, Ryan Coogler wanted to base the first Black Panther on the Christopher Priest comics, featuring a fight between T’Challa and Kraven. Sony refused. Now, if a director were to make such a request, perhaps Sony would be more willing.
There’s a wealth of history that Marvel could tap into; Norman Osborn on the New Avengers roster as the Iron Patriot, Knull and his legion of symbiote dragons as the next Avengers-level threat, a Hulk and Rhino smackdown for the ages, Hammerhead, Tombstone, and The Rose adding some much-needed character to the crime saga Daredevil and Luke Cage are embroiled on… the list goes on.
Time will tell if DanielRPK’s report is to be believed, but between Spider-Woman’s reported cancellation and the diminishing box office returns, it’s hard to imagine there being much enthusiasm behind SUMC.
- Release Date
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September 28, 2018
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Tom Hardy
Eddie Brock / Venom
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Michelle Williams
Anne Weying
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Riz Ahmed
Carlton Drake / Riot
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Scott Haze
Security Chief Roland Treece
