Sony's plans for Venom, Morbius and Madame Web suggest the studio could be building their own anti-Avengers team. The success of the Marvel Cinematic Universe led many franchises to try to imitate their shared universe model. Sony in particular wasted no time; they owned the film rights to Spider-Man and his associated characters, and believed they could create a Spider-Man universe spinning out of them. Unfortunately, the studio tried to push ahead too quickly, and The Amazing Spider-Man 2 failed as a launchpad. In the wake of this failure, Sony struck an unprecedented deal that allowed a new Spider-Man to be rebooted as part of the MCU.
However, that didn't mean Sony had given up on their shared universe ambitions. Instead, they launched what they've eventually called "Sony's Spider-Man Universe," which kicked off in 2018 with Venom. Some complained it lacked Spider-Man himself, but it grossed over $850 million worldwide, and was followed by a successful sequel. It's now being followed by Morbius, starring Jared Leto as Marvel's "Living Vampire." The choice is a surprising one, because Morbius lacks the brand recognition of Venom; and looking beyond Morbius, some of Sony's other choices seem even stranger. They appear to be pushing ahead with a Madame Web movie, a particularly unlikely project that's nonetheless attracted talent such as Dakota Johnson and Sydney Sweeney, who many believe is playing Black Cat.
There's clearly a plan in play for Sony's Spider-Man Universe, However, it's an odd one as it appears to involve characters few fans would expect to become cornerstones of a shared universe, or even to appear on the big screen in the medium term at all. Some recent comments may hint at Sony's plans as it is possible the studio is still attempting to imitate Marvel's model by building an anti-Avengers franchise.
Sony's Spider-Man Universe Could Mirror The Avengers
Many viewers take the success of the MCU for granted. But it's important to remember that back in 2008, the MCU was seen as a gamble. Marvel was dealing with characters who had never appeared on the big screen before, who had been mocked by Hollywood, and lacked the power of major brands like Spider-Man and the X-Men. Even Marvel execs knew they weren't working with A-list superheroes. Just a decade earlier, they had offered Sony the chance to buy every Marvel character for $25 million. There's a sense in which Sony shouldn't be mocked for trying to build a shared universe out of unlikely characters, since Marvel once did the same.
But the similarities between Marvel's approach and Sony's don't stop there. The evidence is building that Sony is essentially building its own dark version of the Avengers, using Spider-Man characters who can serve as twisted mirror images of MCU heroes. Venom himself is essentially the dark Spider-Man, a comparison that's been deliberately struck in the comics on many occasions. Meanwhile, Morbius seems to be shifting into someone who's like a darker version of Tony Stark. Morbius is the head of a company called Horizon Labs, which in the comics became a source of superhero and vigilante technology just as Stark Industries resources the Avengers. Interestingly, Madame Web is speculated be the Doctor Strange of Sony's Spider-Man Universe.
The parallels are striking, and they seem to suggest Sony is taking an imitative approach in building their shared universe. Of course, other opportunities are also becoming available courtesy of the multiverse. Morbius director Daniel Espinosa has recently confirmed Sony is following a model of the multiverse where every dimension has its own Spider-Man, explaining apparent references to some version of the wall-crawler in trailers.
Will Sony's Anti-Avengers Work?
Assuming Sony is indeed attempting to create its own anti-Avengers using Spider-Man characters, the natural question is whether this strategy has a chance of succeeding. While it's true Venom performed well, and Venom: Let There Be Carnage broke franchise records in its opening weekend, the future of this shared universe simply has to be in doubt right now. Unfortunately, Morbius doesn't look quite so promising. The character isn't as well-established in the public consciousness as Venom, first reactions are mixed, and box office projections are concerning. Even the cast doesn't seem sure what to make of Morbius, with Matt Smith admitting he's confused by his Morbius character.
Sony's Spider-Man Universe is still in its earliest stages, where a stumble could cause major problems. It's true the MCU flourished in spite of additional missteps. 2008's The Incredible Hulk was generally seen as a disappointment, and remains the MCU's lowest-grossing movie to this day. However, there's no reason to assume viewers will be quite so forgiving with Sony's Spider-Man Universe. Early comments about Morbius, with several critics saying the film isn't sure which universe it inhabits, suggest it could yet force a change of direction from Sony.
Ironically, the potential is already there for just such a pivot. Espinosa's comments about his universe's Spider-Man raise the possibility Sony could decide to simply introduce their own version of Peter Parker, confident the multiverse allows for multiple iterations of a character to flourish on the big screen without causing any problems for audiences. They could even choose to respond to fan reactions after Spider-Man: No Way Home by folding Andrew Garfield's Spider-Man into this timeline, which would certainly be an ironic twist. This route would force Sony to move a little away from the Avengers formula, because they would have a real Spider-Man working alongside a dark one, but it wouldn't necessarily preclude the formation of an Avengers mirror team. It would potentially be better, with Venom, Morbius, and Madame Web becoming something that's a little more original rather than imitative.
