Disney has removed a release date competing with Sony's 2021 Spider-Man Marvel movie. In the wake of Sony and Marvel Studios striking a new deal to share the rights to Spider-Man, the former has been working harder to connect its upcoming Marvel films to the MCU. The trailer for Morbius not only references Spider-Man being on the run after having his identity outed in Far From Home, it even concludes with a brief appearance by Michael Keaton's Vulture from Homecoming. Additional viral marketing has since included references to Morbius and Venom 2 (which opens this fall) all taking part in the same continuity as the MCU Tom Holland Spider-Man movies.
Between all this and rumors that Holland will cameo in Venom 2, it seems Disney and Sony are planning to continue weaving their Marvel projects closer together throughout the next couple years. That will further include Sony's mysterious October 2021 Spider-Man spinoff, which the studio only scheduled for release a couple weeks ago. Disney has even taken steps to avoid any overlap between their films by pulling a release date that would've conflicted with Sony's movie.
The Mouse House had previously scheduled an untitled live-action Disney movie for release on October 8, 2021, but has since moved it from their official schedule to avoid competing with Sony's Marvel film. As it stands, Disney is planning to release a 20th Century Studios movie a week before Sony's Spider-Man spinoff, followed by its live recorded version of the Hamilton Broadway musical a week later and another 20th Century Studios project after that on October 22.
There's a lot of speculation about Sony's October 2021 Marvel movie right now. Although the studio is reported to have several Spider-Man spinoffs in development at the moment, some of them appear to be much further along than others. Kraven the Hunter, for example, already has a writer (Richard Wenk), and the title character was recently rumored to play a big role in the MCU's future. It's also possible Sony plans to release The Sinister Six in 2021, delivering on the tease of Morbius, Vulture, and other Spider-Man villains joining forces from the Morbius trailer (which appears to takes place near the end of the movie, if not during its credits scene). There's also been talk of a live-action Spider-Woman film happening soon, possibly before her appearance in the women-led Into the Spider-Verse animated spinoff that Sony's working on, but has yet to schedule for release.
Whatever the case, it makes sense for Disney to avoid competing with Sony, either as a curtesy (as part of the studios' new agreement) and/or because the 2021 Marvel movie is one the Mouse House stands to directly benefit from financially. The two will have to re-negotiate their current Spider-Man terms at some point in the foreseeable future, but for the time being their deal is a mutually beneficial one and there's no need to endanger it by possibly cannibalizing the other's box office returns on their Marvel films. Sony Chairman Tom Rothman has even said the studio would like to keep Spider-Man in the MCU after their new agreement runs out - meaning, this might not be the last time Disney tweaks its schedule to avoid claiming the same date as a Sony-Marvel title.
Source: Disney
