Sony Pictures has made a lot of very good, dare we say great, Spider-Man movies. Prior to teaming up with Marvel Studios, they delivered Spider-Man and Spider-Man 2, while 2018's Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse won a well-deserved Oscar. The Amazing Spider-Man franchise was very hit-and-miss, but these days, the studio is focused on its own Marvel Universe.
So far, the "SPUMC" has delivered two disappointing Venom movies and the downright dreadful Morbius, with Kraven the Hunter and Madame Web on the horizon. There's really no reason a world made up of characters linked to Spider-Man can't be as successful as the MCU (and DCEU), but Sony has so far dropped the ball on multiple occasions in borderline unforgivable ways.
Despite that, it's not too late to save Sony's Marvel Universe. Morbius proved they're on the wrong track, but this budding shared world is far from a lost cause, and we have some ideas about how to make things right. It's surprisingly simple, and we really hope the studio takes note!
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5. Say Goodbye To Avi Arad And Matt Tolmach
Avi Arad and Matt Tolmach have become the "Kevin Feige" of Sony's Marvel Universe, with their combined brainpower delivering many of the creative decisions fans despise.
Arad was the one who forced Venom into Spider-Man 3 (a decision Sam Raimi has shared his regrets over on multiple occasions), while the duo was responsible for the disastrous route The Amazing Spider-Man franchise went down. Fans may be campaigning for a third movie now, but their plans included having Peter join the Sinister Six and a concoction capable of raising the dead.
Neither producer appears to have any respect for what's happened in the comic books, something that's evident from the way Venom has been reinvented. Right now, they're in the midst of turning Spider-Man's greatest foes into likeable anti-heroes, building to a Sinister Six movie where they assemble to "do some good."
They have about as much understanding of Spider-Man as Bryan Singer did the X-Men, and while Arad appears to have some strange hold over Sony's Marvel Universe, the sooner these two are ousted, the better. What have they brought to the table that's actually good? The fact that neither man has any involvement with the MCU's Spider-Man tells you everything you need to know.
4. Stop Focusing On The Villains
Fans have made their voices heard and told Sony they want Tom Holland's Spider-Man to remain part of the MCU. Assuming that stays the case moving forward (and it really should after Spider-Man: No Way Home's success), then Sony's Marvel Universe may have to make do without a Peter Parker.
Miles Morales, meanwhile, looks set to continue being the focus of the animated Spider-Man franchise, but there's no reason for Sony to keep making movies solely about the web-slinger's villains.
There are loads of great heroes who make up his world. For starters, you have countless Spider-Man Variants (both male and female), along with characters like Black Cat, Silver Sable, Jackpot, a variety of clones, and allies like Cardiac and The Prowler. Any one of them could take Spider-Man's place as the "lead" hero in this world, but Sony seems intent on focusing on the bad guys.
Those villains do have potential, but starting with them and building to a Sinister Six movie made up of anti-heroes has got to be among the stupidest decisions ever made.
3. Put A Plan In Place And Stick To It
Venom far exceeded box office expectations (even amidst negative reviews), but it's clear that didn't prompt Sony to put a plan in place to expand this Marvel Universe. While it certainly helped the studio gain confidence, the projects they started moving forward with at that time have all come to nothing, with Silver & Black, Jackpot, and Silk all vanishing into the ether.
Marvel Studios didn't know Avengers: Endgame would happen when they released Iron Man, but if Morbius' post-credits scenes prove anything, it's that Sony has no clue where it's going.
Venom: Let There Be Carnage was the perfect opportunity to start expanding this world, but it couldn't have felt any more standalone in nature. All of a sudden, the MCU's Vulture has been thrown into the mix, and the endgame (no pun intended) now seems to be the aforementioned Sinister Six movie.
Considering nearly every reaction and review has slated those stingers and what they're teasing, don't be surprised if plans change again. If so, it's time to put some concrete ideas in place, though the trick will be creating a shared world while making these movies work as standalone projects. So far, Sony has proved that's not something they're capable of.
2. Embrace R-Ratings
Marvel Studios is owned by Disney, and that means we're unlikely to ever see R-Rated stories told in the MCU (we're still not 100% convinced even Deadpool 3 will earn that rating).
However, Warner Bros. has proven in recent years that these superhero stories can be told in both PG-13 and R-Rated settings. On the one hand, you have Shazam! and Wonder Woman 1984, and on the other, there's Joker and The Suicide Squad! This is something Sony would be wise to take into account while developing stories for this vast array of Marvel characters they own.
Venom and Venom: Let There Be Carnage would have benefited greatly from an R-Rating, allowing Eddie Brock to let loose in a way that would have meant he was more than just a goof in an alien costume. Morbius, meanwhile, was a bloodless, toothless vampire movie that majorly disappointed.
We're not suggesting every one of these Marvel movies go with an R-Rating, but they don't all have to be family-friendly blockbusters, either, as there's a big enough audience for both.
1. Introduce A Spider-Man (Or Spider-Woman)
We've talked about the other heroic characters who could be used in this Marvel Universe, but the Multiverse means there's really no reason this world can't have its own Spider-Man. It could be another Peter Parker (Andrew Garfield might want to think twice before working with Arad and Tolmach again) or one of his countless doppelgängers, but it's about time they show up.
Madame Web is the most likely place to make that happen, and we certainly wouldn't be against seeing her recruit someone like Jessica Drew or Julia Carpenter to suit up as Spider-Woman. Olivia Wilde is still attached to a Spider-Woman movie as far as we know, so that could very well be the plan. Why not have Madame Web reach through the Spider-Verse for a suitable candidate?
Ben Reilly, Peter Parker's clone, is a good option. So too is Mayday Parker, the daughter of a Spider-Man who was lost his leg in a battle with the Green Goblin and passed the mantle to her.
The point is, do something new with a spider-themed hero, and leave Tom Holland's wall-crawler in the MCU. This will give fans the best of both worlds, and Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse proved moviegoers are happy to embrace and follow the stories of more than one version of the iconic superhero.