Ever since Tobey Maguire was shooting webs out of his wrists, Spider-Man has had his home at Sony. That was a different time when the studio was focusing on one movie at a time and one franchise at once without even considering spinoffs. Flash forward to the Andrew Garfield era and you can tell that Sony’s priorities have shifted, especially with the release of The Amazing Spider-Man 2. The film – and thus the studio – seemed more interested in setting up multiple sequels and the Sinister 6 spinoff film that it told a largely uneven and uneventful film. Now Sony seems to be back to their old tricks by making numerous films in advance, only this time Sony will have to do it without their star player.

In case you weren’t privy to this information, Tom Holland’s portrayal of Spider-Man is actually part of the MCU but his solo films are co-produced by Sony. That’s why the Sony logo was present before Spider-Man: Far From Home. The company essentially lent Disney/Marvel the character in return for part of the profits, producing credit and creative input but Marvel didn’t get any of the other Spider-Man characters in that deal.

Therefore, Sony is faced with a difficult dilemma. Can they make a Spider-Man cinematic universe, the so-called “Spider-Verse” work on the big screen without the charm and audience appeal of Spider-Man himself? Mainstream audiences are quite familiar with the web-slinger, as he’s had six solo films since 2003 and has appeared in Captain America: Civil and the Infinity War and Endgame Avengers films. On the other hand, not too many people will know who Morbius is. He’s an actual vampire who was initially written as a villain in the comics but after a while, the writers turned Dr. Michael Morbius into an anti-hero.

Likewise, Venom is probably the second best-known character in the “Rogues Gallery” and a lot of these spinoffs will likely sink or swim on the success of that franchise. On a personal note, while I love Tom Hardy as an actor and Venom is a great character, the frest installment of Venom failed to really excite the general audience. A quick google search seems to indicate that a lot of outlets share a similar thought – the Venom sequels may be in a bit of trouble.

All in all, Sony has an uphill battle with these Spider-Verse films. It’d be like making a series of Batman related films without once getting a Batman film or cameo. It seems like a hard sell and one has to wonder if Sony should focus on other characters rather than pumping outside characters from the Spider-Man comics in order to keep up with current market trends. Will audiences care about a collective Spider-Man cinematic universe without any Spider-Man? What would be the point of making so many films without him? I can see a lot of these movies working if Peter Parker could swing in to aid or fight against some of these characters, but for now, in theory, it feels like there’s already something of a void.

What do you think though? Are you excited for all these Spider-Verse films? Does Sony have the right idea or should they quit while they’re ahead? Let us know in the comments and check out our up to date Westworld timeline!