Did Sony's Spider-Man Universe Fail Without Spider-Man?

Sony's Spider-Man universe continues to spark debate over its creative choices. Reports suggest the studio could have focused more on Marvel's live-action Spider-Man characters, such as Tom Holland's Peter Parker, Gwen Stacy, and Mary Jane, but chose not to, believing the audience wouldn’t be interested in seeing these characters outside the MCU. This decision reportedly wasn’t restricted by Sony’s agreement with Disney, according to Variety.

Instead, Sony opted to center its universe around Spider-Man villains following the success of Venom. While the second Venom movie included a cameo of Tom Holland’s Spider-Man in a post-credit scene, other Spider-Man-related heroes were absent in subsequent projects like Madame Web and Kraven the Hunter.

Jeff Block, an analyst from Exhibitor Relations, commented that Sony's strategy may have backfired. "Not having Spider-Man in these films was the fatal flaw," he said, noting that the success of Venom led the studio to believe spin-offs featuring other characters could succeed without Spider-Man.

Sony’s approach has faced mixed results. While the animated Spider-Verse films featuring alternate versions of Peter Parker and Gwen Stacy have been widely successful, live-action projects like Kraven the Hunter have struggled, earning poor reviews and low scores on Rotten Tomatoes.