Tag Archives: Sony Pictures

Dec 14 2024

Yes, Mary Jane, There Is A Santa Claus: Sony Ends Its Spider-Man-Related Cinematic Universe!

Now that Kraven the Hunter is crashing with critics and fans, and at the box office, Sony Pictures had to admit defeat and throw in the towel.

Given the failure of its recent films related to Spider-Man, but not featuring the Marvel Comics hero, Sony decided to discontinue producing these kinds of films. Instead, it will focus on films and TV shows that actually feature Spider-Man himself. Yes, Mary Jane, there is a Santa Claus, since St. Nick and whatever powers-that-be have answered fans prayers. For too long, many of us saw Sony butcher many legitimate Marvel characters with ill-conceived films starring characters that are associated with Spider-Man.

This all started with Venom, which was released in 2018, and turned out to be a huge hit in theaters. Ever since Sony had the film rights to Spider-Man the film studio only released films starring the character, which were successful. But seeing how successful Marvel Studios was with their Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), Sony sought to expand beyond Spider-Man and produce films on characters, namely villains, that were associated with Spider-Man. Never mind that many of these characters won’t work without Spider-Man or at least have a defined connection to him. The Venom films worked largely due to actor Tom Hardy and the passion he infused into his role and the character was strong enough to carry his own films. But Madame Web? Why didn’t Sony just do a Spider-Gwen film? That character is very popular in comics and was a breakout in the two animated Spider-Man films.

As we know, the poor reaction to their more recent Spider-Man films led Sony to reach a deal with Marvel Studios and lend the character to Marvel Studios. The caveat was that the superhero could not appear in live-action in projects not associated with Marvel Studios’ MCU, though this has been disputed by a report from Variety.

The Spider-Man films taking place in the MCU were huge successes, but Sony could not be content with that. So, they decided to crank out films that did not feature Spider-Man, which is how we got Venom. Despite its big success, not everyone loved it. But Sony did not care, they saw the box office returns and were convinced they could duplicate that success. Turns out they couldn’t.

Aside from the Venom films and the animated Spider-Man films, Morbius, Madame Web and now Kraven the Hunter were colossal bombs. The films were so embarrassingly bad that they became the subject of many goofy memes and outright tarnished the reputation of Sony’s Spider-Man-related films. It’s no wonder Sony decided to veer away from these Spider-Man-related films. They just had to, it did not make any financial sense to continue to do so.

This does not mean that Sony will not produce anymore Spider-Man films. Production will start next year on the next MCU Spider-Man film, and its TV project Spider-Man Noir is nearly complete, and work is underway for its next animated Spider-Man film, Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse. That is for the best, honestly.

By not wasting time and resources to produce mediocre films that no one asked for, Sony can now focus all its talent and resources on producing high-quality Spider-Man films and TV shows, which were great to begin with. If any characters introduced in those films prove popular enough, then Sony can produce a spinoff film or TV show with the help of Marvel Studios.

Or they can negotiate with Marvel Studios to allow them to feature a non-MCU Spider-Man in their non-MCU films. That was one of the biggest letdowns with the Venom films. We never got to see Venom confront Spider-Man, his arch-nemesis, who only appeared in a brief cameo in Venom: Let There Be Carnage. It would not be too confusing for the regular public and fans to differentiate between two or more versions of Spider-Man to exist at the same time. This has worked well with the animated Spider-Man films and Warner Bros. has shown that different versions of Batman and his related characters could exist simultaneously, as well as their other DC heroes. Besides this would be a great opportunity to let previous Spider-Man actors like Andrew Garfield to reprise their roles without coming up with a convoluted multiverse storyline.

Even though many deride these Sony Spider-Man films and lament that Disney/Marvel Studios does not own the film rights to the character, there is a rationale for Sony to hold on to him. If Spider-Man were to revert to Marvel Studios, he would be joining a crowded slate of characters who would be vying for time and resources. Just look at how long it has taken for there to be a followup to Captain America: Civil War and the last Iron Man solo film was over ten years ago. Most likely Spider-Man would just play a guest star in other films. At least with Sony, Spider-Man and his world will receive the attention he deserves, and now the studio will focus on crafting some top-tier superhero films and TV shows. Maybe in the not-too-distant future Kraven will be properly introduced as an S-tier villain in a Spider-Man film, which could lead to an adaptation of the classic comic book story, “Kraven’s Last Hunt.” That would be great.!

Oct 27 2024

Venom, Spider-Man & Sony’s Upcoming Crossover Film Event

The latest Spider-Man-related venture by Sony Pictures, Venom: The Last Dance, has teased viewers with an attempt to create a crossover storyline that spans several different films. Sony has tried for years to create their own cinematic universe but failed miserably for the most part because they weren’t able to deliver anything cohesive or high quality. Unfortunately, that problem will continue.

WARNING: Spoilers will be revealed related to Venom: The Last Dance.

Ever since the success of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) and the emergence of other cinematic universes, Sony wanted in on the action given the massive box office success of the MCU. On paper, it seemed easy to copy the MCU’s success: have a bunch of films interconnect with each other with some kind of B-plot storyline running throughout the films that will culminate in an epic crossover event like Avengers: Infinity War. But as the cliché goes, easier said than done.

Sony first tried creating a shared universe with The Amazing Spider-Man films with the last one dropping obvious hints of a film featuring the supervillain team, the Sinister Six. However, given the bad reception of The Amazing Spider-Man 2 and announcement for a Sinister Six film, those plans fell by the wayside. But Sony would not give up. Afterall, they hold the exclusive film rights to Marvel Comics’ most popular character and all related characters, and they would lose those rights if they did not pump out some kind of Spider-Man-related film every few years.

This is how we got the Venom films. By no means are they superhero film classics, but they are entertaining enough (including Venom: The Last Dance with its plot holes and other flaws) and more importantly to Sony, financially successful. This encouraged them to greenlight other films related to Spider-Man, but the dreck they released could not match the success of the Venom films. Still, they plowed ahead as seen with that non-sensical post-credits scene in Morbius where the title character met the Vulture, who was transported over from the MCU. What was so baffling was that for reasons unknown to us, Morbius decides to join Vulture in attacking Spider-Man, even though Morbius never met the superhero! It seems as if Sony is still hellbent on their Sinister Six film and more will probably be revealed in December with Kraven the Hunter, where there will most likely be some post-credits scene that has Kraven meeting the Vulture. Thankfully this did not occur in Venom: The Last Dance.

Instead, the third and (for now) final Venom film introduced the beginning of an adaptation of the King in Black comic book event. That storyline was the culmination of Donny Cates’ Venom run which explored the backstory of the Venom symbiote and introduced the supervillain, Knull, who created the symbiotes and invaded Earth. While it was tantalizing to see Knull on the big screen, he didn’t receive much screen time and was a background menace who drove the action. In the film’s prologue, it’s revealed that Knull is being held prisoner by the symbiotes he created and only Venom can break him free through some biological MacGuffin. After Venom and other symbiotes defeats the small army of alien creatures sent by Knull to Earth, the Venom symbiote is killed and a still-imprisoned Knull vows in a post-credits scene to escape and wipe out all life in the universe.

That sounds great but this development happens in the so-called final Venom film. Where else can this Knull story continue? Well in a Spider-Man film, of course.

There are reports that Sony and Marvel have been at odds over the story for the next Spider-Man film. Marvel wanted it to be a grounded film involving Spider-Man with street-level threats and heroes like the Kingpin and Daredevil and fans have been demanding this since such a plot would return the character back to his grounded, street-level roots, which has been missing from the MCU Spider-Man films. However, Sony is demanding the character be involved in universe-threatening events as seen with Spider-Man: No Way Home since it is the best platform for crossovers with the characters the studio has the film rights.

The current rumor is that the next Spider-Man will not only feature the non-MCU Spider-Men teaming up with the MCU Spider-Man but that at long last Venom will meet Spider-Man. This was something that was teased in Venom: Let There Be Carnage when Venom was transported to the MCU, but that turned out to be a disappointment because Venom returned without meeting Spider-Man.

So, why would the two meet? To fight Knull, of course! But wait didn’t the Venom symbiote die in Venom: The Last Dance? Yes, but a post-credits scene teased us with an offspring of Venom that was loose, who will probably seek out Eddie Brock to bond with him. Or the offspring that was left behind in the MCU during Spider-Man: No Way Home be the new symbiote for Eddie to bond with. Maybe this time, the new Venom will sport the iconic large white spider symbol on his chest.

While there is some potential with this plot, given Sony’s inability to give us a coherent Spider-Man-related film without the help of Marvel Studios, there is the possibility that the buildup to this event will be bungled, and we’re seeing that already. Knull should have been introduced in the Venom films much sooner or made a more prominent menace in the current Venom film. He also should have appeared in the other Sony Spider-Man-related films like Madame Web, which would have been natural given Madame Web’s psychic powers that enabled her to detect him.

Then there is the problem in that Knull is a Venom villain, having him being the main foe in a Spider-Man film does not feel right. Also, the King in Black story involved all of the Marvel heroes with Venom leading the fight against Knull. Forcing Venom to share this burden in a Spider-Man film takes away from Venom’s transformation in the comic book story into a full-fledged hero and the new King in Black of the symbiotes after defeating Knull.

Also, the meeting of Spider-Man and Venom should be a film event unto itself and jamming it with the dense King in Black storyline will make this event feel rushed. That is unless Sony plans to split the King in Black story into a couple of Spider-Man films. The first film would have Spidey meeting and fighting Venom, then the second film they would team up to fight Knull along with the other crossover characters. As to how this story would mesh with the MCU’s Infinity Saga and the upcoming Avengers films, who knows at this point? But do not be too disappointed if Sony drops the ball, but on the other hand, since Marvel Studios will be involved with the Spider-Man films, hopefully the result will be better than expected.

Jan 3 2022

Spider-Man: No Way Home—Spider-Man’s Endgame

Despite a global pandemic and naysayers, Spider-Man: No Way Home (NWH) defied expectations and is a mammoth box office hit. With the success comes discussion over what lies ahead for future Spider-Man films and the ramifications of the events of NWH. Be aware the following will include spoilers about Spider-Man: No Way Home and related films.

The Complex Film Web

Spider-Man’s film history and its development has always been rocky. Before the first Spider-Man in 2002, it took years and armies of lawyers to develop a Spider-Man film thanks to the Marvel Comics superhero’s complex film rights. As it now stands Sony Pictures holds the film rights to Spider-Man, not The Walt Disney Company or Marvel Studios. While Sony had great success with the early Sam Raimi-directed Spider-Man films, they struggled with their rebooted film duology, The Amazing Spider-Man and The Amazing Spider-Man 2. The film studio tried to start their own film universe based on Spider-Man and related property to rival Marvel Studios’ Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). But those films were not as successful as the Raimi films nor were they well received. This forced Sony to scuttle further planned films and work with Marvel Studios to integrate the superhero into the MCU. This paid off tremendously as the MCU Spider-Man films were beloved and very profitable.

The partnership between Sony and Disney hit a large hurdle in 2019 shortly after the release of Spider-Man: Far From Home, a film which ended on a cliffhanger. The two companies could not come to terms and Sony took back the film rights, effectively ending all appearances by Spider-Man in the MCU. After some time, cooler heads prevailed and Spidey was allowed to have at least one more appearance in the MCU, which was Spider-Man: No Way Home, a film that celebrated all the Spider-Man live-action films as the actors who performed Spider-Man in the older films, Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield reprised their iconic roles. Many theorized that based on the film’s plot line dealing with alternate realities that the superhero would transition away from the MCU and into his own reality that was populated by other characters such as Venom and Morbius.

Across a Multiverse

According to executives from both film companies, Spider-Man will remain in the MCU for the time being. Producer Amy Pascal even went as far as to announce that a new MCU Spider-Man was in development and perhaps more. He is also supposed to appear in one other MCU film as a feature character like he did in Captain America: Civil War and the last two Avengers films. It would be terrific if he could show up in the MCU reboot of the Fantastic Four since the two properties have a shared early history and the director of the MCU Spider-Man films, Jon Watts, has been selected to direct the FF reboot.

Spider-Man remaining in the MCU is welcome news for fans who love the MCU version of Spider-Man. No one can say for certain if this actually happens, but given the huge success of the MCU Spider-Man films, it would be in the best interests of both film studios to continue the arrangement. On the other hand, if this does not come to pass, at least the cliffhanger was resolved and the last film in the trilogy brought this Spidey’s story to a conclusion and a new chapter in his life.

Supposing Spider-Man were to remain in the MCU what would he face next? One clue is the alien symbiote that created Venom. At the end of Venom: Let There Be Carnage, Venom was transported to the MCU, however he did not play a vital role in NWH. Instead, Venom and his host Eddie Brock hung out in a bar in Mexico and was transported back to his own reality in a mid-credit scene in NWH. The scene was quite funny, but some were disappointed that Venom did not help out the Spider-Men or join the Sinister Six. But a small fragment of the symbiote was left behind in the MCU. So this could be what Peter faces next.

As to how this fragment remained while everyone else not part of the MCU were transported back to their own realities, well, because plot holes. On that note, where were the other characters from other realities that knew Peter Parker was Spider-Man, such as the Raimi version of Venom, or the Harry Osborns in the other films or Peter’s love interests? The real-world answer is that having them show up would have made the film too crowded. It already had the two previous versions of Spider-Man and the main villains from those films, plus the Venom and Matt Murdock appearances. It is possible they arrived much later in NWH and were quickly whisked back before they could do anything. Or maybe they were about to come through in the scene near the end where the dimensional rift threatened to rip open wider. In that moment, audiences could make out the forms of other Spider-Man villains like Kraven the Hunter and Scorpion, so other characters who knew Spider-Man’s secret identity were bound to come through, also.

For now, it seems as if Venom will have his own universe that is populated by at least one other Spider-Man villain, Morbius. There are hints that this universe is part of the film universe of The Amazing Spider-Man films. These include the font for the Daily Bugle newspaper seen in Venom: Let There Be Carnage and Morbius is similar to that seen in The Amazing Spider-Man 2. Another is the Oscorp Building featured in those films turned up in a recent trailer for Morbius. That film references Venom and the trailers featured Michael Keaton as presumably the Vulture, an MCU Spider-Man villain. How can this be? Simple, this version of the version is similar to the MCU version seen in Spider-Man: Homecoming. The way that actor J.K. Simmons reprised his role as J. Jonah Jameson in NWH being that he played the same character in the Raimi Spider-Man films also applies in this case with the Vulture. In other words, his appearance in Morbius does not mean the film takes place in the MCU. As to the apprent absence of Spider-Man in the Venom films to date (post-credits scenes aside), well, they could have taken place before The Amazing Spider-Man films.

There are plans to create a film based on Kraven the Hunter with Aaron Taylor-Johnson playing the famous Spidey villain. This film could be interesting, but would feel hollow without Spider-Man’s presence. More than Venom or Morbius, Kraven was driven and defined by Spider-Man. He was obssessed by besting his ultimate prey in the comic books. This culminated in the classic story line “Kraven’s Last Hunt” and it is hard to imagine such a story being filmed without Spider-Man. If the Kraven film takes place in The Amazing Spider-Man films perhaps it can include Andrew Garfield’s version of Spider-Man.

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Jun 23 2015

Meet The New Spider-Man

new spideySony Pictures and Marvel Studios just announced that young actor Tom Holland will now play Peter Parker/Spider-Man in the next film in the popular superhero series.

Additionally, the studios also chose Jon Watts to direct the new Spider-Man reboot. Watts’ film work includes Cop Car and Clown. Even though Watts has a limited film directing resume, both studios proclaimed their confidence in the director. Marvel Studios honcho Keven Feige said, “As with James Gunn, Joss Whedon, and the Russo brothers, we love finding new and exciting voices to bring these characters to life.  We spent a lot of time with Jon and find his take and work inspiring.”

Tom Holland, however, has a how i live nowmore well-known body of work. He appeared in the genre film How I Live Now and won notice for his work in the disaster film The Impossible and will appear in the upcoming Ron Howard film In the Heart of the Sea.

Former Sony head, Amy Pascal, who will produce the Spider-Man reboot had this to say about young Holland, “Sony, Marvel, Kevin and I all knew that for Peter Parker, we had to find a vibrant, talented young actor capable of embodying one of the most well-known characters in the world.  With Tom, we’ve found the perfect actor to bring Spider-Man’s story into the Marvel Cinematic Universe.”

The hiring of Holland brings to a close an intense search for a new actor to take up the Spider-Man mantle, which seemed like a daunting task. After the disappointing reaction to The Amazing Spider-Man 2 last year, Sony knew it needed to reinvigorate the franchise. The best option for them was to integrate Marvel’s most popular superhero into the super popular and successful Marvel Cinematic Universe. This year’s early announcement that this would happen raised anticipation for the next incarnation of Spider-Man.

spidey civil warEven though the next Spider-Man film won’t come out until July 28, 2017, he will appear in next year’s Captain America: Civil War, which is currently filming. Holland is 19 years old and young enough to believably portray a struggling high school student. By the time more films in the franchise come out Holland will still be relatively young compared to previous actors who played the superhero. What’s more important is that Tom Holland has the acting chops needed to bring the role to life and bring his own unique spin. Now the wait is to see who plays the supporting characters, not to mention how the new costume will look like.

Lewis T. Grove