Sony Plans to Make Its Own MCU

Venom hits theaters this October, and its success will set the tone for the future of Sony Pictures. In fact, Sony owns the rights to 900 Marvel Comics characters. And with the massive success, Disney’s MCU has seen in the last ten years, Sony is trying to follow.

The Marvel Universe has become synonymous with Disney. Even Fox, who released the X-Men and Fantastic Four movies, decided to merge with the screen giant as of July 27, 2018. But before the first spectacular Iron Man arrived in 2008, Marvel Comics already sold the rights to many of its characters, and Sony Pictures has a good chunk of them.

The official list of Sony’s 900 characters is not public. But the studio has announced plans for movies about Kraven the Hunter, Morbius the Living Vampire, and Black Cat. There is one thing in common with these characters: they have ties to Spider-Man. This begs the question if there is already too much Spider-Man on the big screen. The Toby Maguire trilogy ran from 2002-2007. Then the Amazing Spider-Man movies starring Andrew Garfield ran from 2012-2014. A mere three years later, we saw Tom Holland take up the role in 2017’s Spider-Man Homecoming. But this one had a fresher taste, as he was already incorporated into Disney’s MCU with Captain America: Civil War. If Sony tries to create its own version of Spider-Man, will the audience care? Would the studios be able to pull off their own MCU following Spider-Man allies and enemies without featuring the hero himself?

There is no doubt much is riding on the success of Venom. A success will make Sony’s plans for the future easier. A failure will put them more along the lines of the DC films, where only the triumph of the Wonder Woman movie is keeping the franchise afloat. Sony has also stated it is interested in making adult films akin to Deadpool and Logan. Time will tell if the studio is as successful in this endeavor as Fox was.

We will found out in October if Sony has what it takes to bring Marvel to the screen. The future will be written after Venom. 

Ashley Roepel

Ashley is a professional writer and nerd enthusiast who spends most of her days playing Dungeons & Dragons, board and video games, and drawing. She also is an avid traveler who always thinks she’s quite ready for another adventure!