What Went Wrong With Sony"s Spider-Man Universe: Why It Was Cancelled And What Spider-Man"s Future Is

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Sony’s Spider-Man Universe has seemingly ended with more of a fizzle than a bang, leaving the future of Spider-Man movies in some question. Sony began making a shared universe of Spider-Man characters, known as the SSU. However, despite some initial successes, the SSU’s ambitious plans have come to a halt, culminating in a wave of reports confirming that Sony will cease developing standalone films. With the poor performance of Kraven the Hunter sealing the SSU’s fate, it appears the franchise is dead, but that doesn’t spell the end for Sony’s Spider-Man plans.
Sony Pictures retains the movie rights to Spider-Man and his related characters. However, since they began collaborating with the MCU on Peter Parker-led projects, they established the SSU to run concurrently. This began in 2018 with Tom Hardy’s Venom. The film’s surprise success at the box office and the huge success of the MCU bolstered the studio’s confidence in creating its own franchise separate from Sony’s Spider-Verse movies and the collaboration with the MCU on Tom Holland’s Spider-Man movies. As such, Sony’s superhero days are far from over, but its shared universe plans ended with a whimper.
Sony's Spider-Man Universe Is Done After Kraven the Hunter Close Reports from industry insiders have confirmed that Kraven the Hunter marks the end of the SSU. The franchise was already struggling after Morbius and Madame Web, and it seemed like the release of Kraven the Hunter was going to decide the SSU’s future, with no confirmed subsequent movies. Following Kraven the Hunter’s dismal reception and poor financial performance, Sony has reportedly decided to abandon further development of movies within this franchise.

Related All 7 Marvel Villains In Kraven The Hunter Explained Kraven the Hunter depicts the eponymous foe’s origin story, but also includes 6 more classic Spider-Man villains, expanding the SSU’s rogues’ gallery.
Posts 1 Kraven the Hunter, starring Aaron Taylor-Johnson, was hoped to breathe new life into Sony’s universe. However, its critical reception and box office earnings fell far below expectations, prompting the studio to rethink its strategy. According to reports, all other movies with the SSU have officially been canceled, including the El Muerto movie and other planned spinoffs set within the shared universe.
Why Sony's Spider-Man Universe Was Canceled

Sony’s Spider-Man Universe faltered due to a combination of poor critical reception, underwhelming box office performance, and inconsistent creative direction. Despite superhero movies dominating the entertainment landscape, the majority of the SSU’s movies have flopped. Below is a summary of the franchise’s films, highlighting their Rotten Tomatoes scores and box office earnings:
Movie
Release Year
Rotten Tomatoes Score
Worldwide Box Office
Venom
2018
30%
$856,085,161
Venom: Let There Be Carnage
2021
58%
$506,813,864
Morbius
2022
15%
$167,460,961
Madame Web
2024
11%
$100,498,764
Venom: The Last Dance
2024
41%
$473,063,616
Kraven the Hunter
2024
15%
$100 million (estimated)
Despite Venom and its sequels managing respectable box office earnings, the critical reception was overwhelmingly negative across the board. Morbius and Madame Web both became cultural punchlines, mocked relentlessly for their poor writing, weak performances, and lackluster visual effects. By the time Kraven the Hunter arrived, audiences had largely lost interest in the SSU. Though Kraven the Hunter had a slightly better reception than Morbius and Madame Web, it had a substantially worse opening weekend, suggesting it will only earn around $100 million worldwide.
What Went Wrong With Sony's Spider-Man Universe?

Several missteps contributed to the downfall of Sony’s Spider-Man Universe. One of the most glaring issues was the lack of Spider-Man himself. While building a shared universe around secondary characters can work (as evidenced by DC’s Joker), Spider-Man’s absence left a noticeable void in these films. Without the character who ties these villains together, the universe lacks a central figure to anchor its narrative. Indeed, with each passing movie, the lack of Spider-Man in Sony’s Spider-Man Universe became harder to ignore.
Additionally, Sony’s decision to transform several iconic Spider-Man villains into tragic antiheroes significantly undermined the characters’ appeal. Films like Venom and Morbius leaned heavily into sympathetic backstories, which clashed with their comic book origins as menacing adversaries. This approach also conflicted with Sony’s supposed plans for a Sinister Six team-up film, as it became increasingly difficult to envision these characters as a cohesive group of villains. The SSU was filled with afflicted heroes with scant few villains to swell the Sinister Six’s ranks.
This mishandling of the source material is a notorious sticking point among comic book audiences, who largely want to see something close to the characters they adored reading. Instead, the SSU changed some essential characteristics, or even just created wholly original backstory elements. The most conspicuous example of this is Madame Web, which crafted an origin story that does not exist in the comics at all. Kraven the Hunter, meanwhile, turns the infamous big game hunter into a murderous environmentalist, despite confusingly retaining the character’s goal to become the world’s greatest hunter.
Unlike the MCU, which meticulously planned interconnected storylines over a decade, Sony’s SSU appeared directionless. The films were standalone stories with minimal connections, failing to create a sense of continuity or build anticipation for future installments. The only semblance of a shared universe came in the post-credits sequences that teased an eventual team-up. Yet, despite this, each movie felt distinctly separate from the other entrants.
Sony's Spider-Man Future Explained

While the SSU may be over, Sony’s Spider-Man-related projects are far from done, they still own the adaption rights to Web-Head and his associated characters. The studio is pivoting its focus to projects directly tied to Spider-Man, including animated films and MCU collaborations. Among these is the highly anticipated Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse sequel.
The Spider-Verse movies were huge for Sony, proffering a unique and visually striking narrative focused on Miles Morales’s Spider-Man. Lauded for their animation style and dynamic storytelling, the Spider-Verse movies are some of the most successful superhero movies ever, proving that Sony can deliver superhero content. The final installment, Beyond the Spider-Verse, is expected for a 2025 release, though it has experienced several production delays.
Off the success of the Spider-Verse, Sony is also planning an animated Spider-Woman movie, based on several Spider-related characters. Sony is also producing a live-action series based on Nicolas Cage’s Spider-Man Noir character from Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. This promises a unique take on the Spider-Man mythos, focusing on a darker, alternate-universe version of the character set in the 1930s.

Related 10 Most Wasted Characters In Spider-Man Movies Each of the Spider-Man movies included a swathe of classic Marvel characters, but some classic friends and foes were completely squandered.
Posts Meanwhile, Sony Pictures is collaborating with the MCU on Tom Holland’s fourth Spider-Man movie. This continues the partnership that allowed for the triumphant Spider-Man: Homecoming and Spider-Man: No Way Home. Though details remain unknown, there was some back-and-forth between Marvel and Sony regarding their continued collaboration on Peter Parker movies. This could be reassessed after the SSU’s cancelation if Sony wants to keep its successful property to itself, though it would be a foolhardy decision.
The SSU’s other projects, however, have all been shelved. Sony had initially announced movies based on Sinister Six, El Muerto, Jackpot, Black Cat, and Silver Sable. Each of these, and some unclear others, have all been shelved by Sony, and will likely∫. As it stands, however, it appears that Sony’s Spider-Man Universe is over for good, with Sony focusing on its other, more fruitful Web-Slinger options.
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Sony's Spider-Man Universe Sony's Spider-Man Universe (SSU) is a media franchise and shared universe centered around various characters associated with Spider-Man, but without including Spider-Man himself as a central figure. The SSU focuses on antiheroes and villains like Venom and Morbius and has expanded to include additional characters like Madame Web and Kraven the Hunter. The franchise exists independently of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) but has made some minor crossovers.
Created by David Michelinie , Todd McFarlane , Roy Thomas , Gil Kane First Film Venom Latest Film Madame Web Upcoming Films Venom: The Last Dance , Kraven the Hunter , The Sinister Six Upcoming TV Shows Spider-Noir (2025) , Silk: Spider Society Cast Jared Leto , Aaron Taylor-Johnson , Dakota Johnson , Sydney Sweeney , Michelle Williams , Riz Ahmed , Woody Harrelson , Matt Smith , Reid Scott Character(s) Venom , Michael Morbius , Kraven The Hunter , Madame Web , Anne Weying , Riot , Carnage , Lucien Crown , Dan Lewis Summary Sony"s Spider-Man Universe (SSU) is a media franchise and shared universe centered around various characters associated with Spider-Man, but without including Spider-Man himself as a central figure. The SSU focuses on antiheroes and villains like Venom and Morbius and has expanded to include additional characters like Madame Web and Kraven the Hunter. The franchise exists independently of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) but has made some minor crossovers.
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