Ahead of Kraven the Hunter's release in theaters this weekend, fans have cause to celebrate because the end of Sony's Spider-Man Universe (sometimes referred to as SPUMC, or Sony Pictures' Universe of Marvel Characters) is finally upon us.
According to The Wrap, the decision has been made to pull the plug on the slate of spin-offs that revolved around characters with close ties to Spider-Man, but not the web-slinger himself.
A top talent agent tells the trade, "They’ve developed what they want to develop for now. It’s really about the next 'Spider-Man' film."
A Sony insider tells them that the studio now intends to focus on Spider-Man 4 - co-produced with Marvel Studios - and Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse. On the TV side, Spider-Noir is also a top priority as Sony looks to finally put the spotlight on the character that matters: Spider-Man.
Venom provided the doubters wrong in 2018 when it earned close to $900 million at the box office; however, reviews were largely negative, and both Venom: Let There Be Carnage and Venom: The Last Dance earned significantly less, with the latter the lowest grossing in the trilogy.
The message from fans was clear: they've had enough with these spin-off movies and the liberties they take with the source material.
"The biggest issue with the Sony Spider-Man spinoffs seems to be the lack of quality control. The movies just aren’t good," a second Sony insider says. "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."
Any goodwill the Venom franchise once found was obliterated by movies like Morbius and Madame Web, both of which became subjects of ridicule on social media (they also flopped at the box office).
After The Amazing Spider-Man 2 failed to meet expectations, Sony decided to partner with Marvel Studios to reboot Spider-Man in 2015. Following his introduction in Captain America: Civil War, hit after hit followed until the studio decided to do its own thing with the movie that would eventually become Spider-Man: No Way Home.
A very vocal backlash forced the studio's hand to reach a new deal with Disney and Spidey looks set to remain in the MCU for the foreseeable future. Today's news likely means plans for the Venom franchise - potentially an Agent Venom project minus Tom Hardy - have been put on hold, while the likes of El Muerto and Silver Sable have been in limbo for a while now, anyway.
Sony will likely revisit its Marvel properties somewhere down the line, but hopefully with a creative team that doesn't include Avi Arad. Attempts to create a shared universe - Venom and Morbius - failed as did the "standalone" approach to Madame Web. With that in mind, the studio will need all the help it can get.