In a rare bit of Hollywood cooperation between Marvel Studios and Sony Pictures, both studios reached an agreement that will allow them to share–and benefit from–Spider-Man appearing on the big screen. But while Marvel hasTom Hollandcast as Peter Parker, who made his introduction inCaptain America: Civil Warand will be leadingSpider-Man: Homecoming, Sony still owns the cinematic portrayals of the web-crawler and something on the order of 900 Marvel characters. It goes without saying that they’d like to capitalize on that intellectual property.
We’re already seeing this happen. Fox example, the recent story that Sony has hired screenwriterChris Yost(Thor: Ragnarok) to write the script for Spider-Man charactersBlack Cat and Silver Sable, building on a previous version of the scriptLisa Joy(Westworld);Matt TolmachandAmy Pascalwill produce the film previously known as the “secret female spin-off project.” However, there’s also the previously announcedVenomstandalone filmand its recently confirmedrelease dateof July 21, 2025. Scripted byDante Harper(Alien: Covenant) and produced byAvi AradandMatt Tolmach, we’re hearing that Sony is developingVenomnot only as the film to launch their own Marvel Universe, but as an R-rated effort.
Keep in mind that this is the plan we’re hearing about at the moment and that things could still change between now and late 2018—especially once a director signs on and has his or her own vision—but it’s certainly an interesting approach to building Sony’s Marvel Universe.Andrew Garfield’s take on Peter Parker inThe Amazing Spider-Manfilms was fine, but apparently not a direction the studio wanted to continue pursuing, despite tallying nearly $1.5 billion from just two films. Instead, the newly retooled Sony’s Marvel Universe will launch with an R-ratedVenomthat is expected to keep its budget modest. It sounds like Sony’s taking notes on the successes of both the MCU and 20th Century Fox’sDeadpoolandLogan, and applying them to their own substantial stable of superheroes and supervillains.
Let’s be clear: Sony’s Marvel Universe will not be connected to the MCU in any way (sorry,Guardians of the Galaxyfans, but aVenomcrossover is highly dubious) and the plannedVenomandBlack CatandSilver Sablefilms are all part of Sony’s own shared universe, not spin-offs of any existing films. Marvel’sKevin Feigehas nothing to do with these films; it’sTom Rothman, chairman of Sony Pictures Entertainment’s Motion Picture Group, who’s calling the shots. The announcement ofVenom’s release date tells us that the execs are happy with the script and the new direction they’re embarking on, but with no director set for either film, obviously things can still change since all of the announced films are still in development.
What I really want to hear more about isVenom’s tone and story. An R-rating allows for a lot of room for creativity, but just how are they going to bring the alien symbiote into the story? (And, no,Lifeisnot aVenomprequel.) I’m not sure how Venom is going to be introduced without Spider-Man acting as its first known host, unless Sony’s either going off-book with the introduction or will mention this origin story of sorts in a passing manner. What Icansee isVenombeing a really interesting horror film in which the alien symbiote is a parasitic entity driving its hosts insane, or even more interesting, a revenge tale in which its host uses the powers and abilities granted to him (or her) to exact vengeance, similar to the plot ofDeath Note. And who will it focus on, Eddie Brock, Mac Gargan, Ann Weying, or maybe even just Peter Parker? (Probably not Deadpool…) In other words, I don’t know how Sony will pull off a supervillain-focused film, but I’m very interested in seeing what they come up with.
Are you down with an R-ratedVenom? Are you happy to hear that Sony is kicking off their own Marvel Universe? Be sure to let us know in the comments!
