Even though the studio has failed at least twice over to build a sustainable franchise based around everybody’s favorite web-slinging superhero, the rapid expansion of Sony’s Spider-Man Universe underlines that the ghost isn’t being given up without a fight.
Having already canned Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 4 when development was already well underway, the company then did the exact same thing again when The Amazing Spider-Man series was dumped after only two installments, nixing plans for a multitude of sequels and spinoffs – several of which already had release dates locked in.
Tom Hardy’s Venom and its sequel may prove to be exceptions to the rule, seeing as Morbius gained online infamy for all the wrong reasons, and there isn’t exactly a great deal of buzz swirling around Kraven the Hunter, Madame Web, El Muerto, Hypno-Hustler, or even the mere prospect of Sony dipping its toes into episodic Spidey-adjacent waters.
The approach has been consistently inconsistent, then, and it’s been perfectly summed up by an on-brand meme pulled from a film that knew how to approach the big screen adventures of Peter Parker with quality and style.
If it wasn’t for Kevin Feige, then who knows what the current complexion of Spider-Man’s cinematic adventures would look like, especially given the heart-in-mouth moment back in the summer of 2019 when it looked as though Sony was fully prepared to take its ball and go home.
Mercifully it didn’t come to pass, but Sony’s Spider-Man Universe still has plenty to prove to casual audiences.