In news sure not to excite anyone in particular, Kraven the brand new Huntsman is now in theaters. The latest and most likely last live-action spin-off flick for Sony’s unfortunate cinematic universe is limping towards a awkward opening weekend with scathing reviews (in addition to IGN’s), marking an ignominious end for what’s been one of the worst years ever for the superhero genre. While no major superhero franchise is at its best right now, with the MCU struggling to get back to the heights of the Infinity Saga and Warner Bros. betting big on James Gunn’s upcoming Superman reboot to get DC back on track, none have been as consistently lackluster as the Sony Spider-Man Universe (SSU). Or is it the Sony World regarding Surprise Letters (SUMC)?
Whatever this franchise was supposed to be called, it’s all but certainly over. The latest Wrap recently reported that Sony Pictures is seeking to shutter this flailing enterprise after Kraven the Hunter so they can put all their focus on the upcoming Spider-Man 4 and Beyond the Spider-Verse. Good on them for cutting their losses and not subjecting us to any more of this nonsense, but the real question is: How did anyone think this was going to turn out differently? None of these movies were particularly good (sorry, Venom fans) and they all starred characters who are defined by their relationships to Spider-Man, a character they weren’t allowed to meet. This series was always going to fail, even if someone managed to wrangle a worthwhile movie out of the situation. Let’s take a look at why Sony’s Marvel Universe was doomed before it even started.
Spider-Man: Municipal Battle
New Sony World has always been a strange monster due to the new strange rights problem they can be acquired into the. Sony Photo retains the movie rights on the Crawl-Guy operation, but pursuing the crucial and monetary disappointment of one’s Unbelievable Spider-People 2 during the 2014, Sony decided to share Crawl-Guy which have Wonder Studios and enable Peter Parker to move to your new MCU, in which he or she is due to the fact already been played because of the Tom The netherlands. However, Sony got already been advancement towards the multiple spin-from ideas from inside the TASM weeks, particularly Venom and you may Sinister Six videos. Sony certainly wished to mine more of the Ponder letters it had accessibility, nevertheless center of attention of your franchise, Spider-Guy, are today tangled up in the web of what actually is technically its opponent.
The fresh solamente Crawl-Guy clips you to definitely came immediately after was in fact a sign of your passive-aggressive arrangement you to definitely Disney and you can Sony hit. Homecoming and much At home have been drowning inside the references for the wide MCU, making certain that it could be problematic for Sony to just “remove” of plan instead hurtful fans and you will investors that would concern as to why Holland’s now very popular types of the type are no expanded in the same world since their Avengers pals, when you find yourself Absolutely no way Home made use of brute force to locate systems of letters of Sony’s non-MCU franchises on “legitimacy” on the strength of your own multiverse. However, none of the change one Sony’s connection to the brand new large Surprise brand try surprisingly you to definitely-sided, something which actually standard visitors have been able to cluing directly into.
It is laughable you to a great cinematic universe filled up with Examine-People letters will not now have Spider-Guy with it.
The “in association with Marvel” logo that Sony was forced to use and the clear indication that they weren’t allowed beautiful Rhodes women to feature Spider-Man in their spin-off films created an omnipresent feeling of Sony’s films being a B-side to the MCU. Regardless of how many times Tom Hardy or others teased Venom meeting Spider-Man, the entire Venom trilogy arrived and you can went without the two characters ever crossing paths. Same with Morbius, Madame Web, and now Kraven, with the closest thing to a proper Peter Parker appearance outside of Let There Be Carnage’s post-credits scene being him being born in Madame Web. It’s laughable that a cinematic universe filled with Spider-Man characters doesn’t actually have Spider-Man in it, but that fact ruined the series in more ways than one.