Sounds Like Sony's Universe of Marvel Characters Is Officially No More
· BCPosted in: Movies, Sony | Tagged: kraven the hunter, Madame Web, morbius, spider-man
Sounds Like Sony's Universe of Marvel Characters Is Officially No More
Spider-Man: Brand New Day might have smashed box office records, but Sony's Universe of Marvel Characters appears to be all but dead in the water with no new spin-off films in development.
Published Mon, 03 Aug 2026 17:37:10 -0500
by Kaitlyn Booth
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Article Summary
- Sony’s Universe of Marvel Characters appears to be over, despite Spider-Man: Brand New Day posting a record box office debut.
- Tom Rothman says audiences did not respond to Morbius, Kraven the Hunter, and Madame Web, ending momentum for more spin-offs.
- Sony confirms no live-action Spider-Man villain movies are currently in active development after years of false starts.
- While live-action Spider-Man spin-offs stall, Sony’s animated Spider-Verse franchise still looks like the stronger path forward.
Almost eight years ago to the day, in 2018, Sony announced a bunch of Marvel movies focusing on Spider-Man characters were in the works. It included films like the Black Cat and Silver Sable, as well as films focusing on characters like Kraven the Hunter and Morbius. Some of these ideas had been floating around Sony for as long as the studio held the right to the characters, but they never quite got off the ground. The group of films was being called Sony's Universe of Marvel Characters, though that name never really caught on. The other thing that never really caught on was any of these films without the name "Venom" in the title.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day is coming off a record breaking weekend, but don't assume that means Sony is pushing forward with more of those live-action movies following the critical and commercial failures of Morbius, Kraven the Hunter, and Madame Web. Variety got to speak to Tom Rothman, chairman of Sony Pictures, and when pressed about these films that didn't exactly connect with audiences, Rothman didn't exactly mince his words.
"Ultimately, the audience wasn't satisfied enough with them," Rothman explained. "Whether that's a fair assessment of those movies, who knows. That's howling into the wind. The audience is the boss, and they didn't respond. It's as simple as that."
Movie studios are strange little beasts that either attempt to bleed something dry long after the husk has turned to dust or they give up the second it looks like something isn't working. For a while now, it looked like the Sony corner of the Marvel universe was the former, attempting to bleed this concept despite very little in the way of audience returns, and it sounds like they are finally listening. When pressed if there are any other films in development right now, Rothman replied, "Right now, we don't know. We never looked at it as the "Sony-Marvel Universe." We looked at if there were worthwhile movies to make with other characters. At the moment, there are none in active development."
However, the corner of the Marvel universe they are talking about is a specific one that focuses on live-action characters. Spin-offs and sequels involving animation and the Spider-Verse? Well, that's likely a different story altogether. As Sony continued trying to make these live-action movies work, they had this beautiful animated sandbox right there, ripe for the taking. Animation is a labor of love that takes much longer to make than a live-action film, but it's clear that rushing through a Madame Web or Morbius movie won't even break even, so maybe it's worth investing in animated films and waiting a little longer.
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