You’ve heard of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and Universal’s dormant Dark Universe, but what about the SUMC? For the record, that’s the formal name given to Sony’s Universe of Marvel Characters, which is due to kick-off this fall thanks to Venom.
Per Variety, we know Sony has already drawn up plans for Silk, Nightwatch, Morbius, Jackpot and Kraven the Hunter. Silver & Black are headed to the big screen, too, but they’ve since been redirected to individual solo movies. Couple this with the fact that Sony Pictures currently owns film rights to “roughly 900 Marvel characters” big and small, and it’s pretty clear that the SUMC is bursting at the seams with cinematic potential.
That’s assuming things get off to a good start this October, mind you, when all eyes in the industry will turn towards Ruben Fleischer’s standalone Venom movie and its A-list cast. Word is Sony wants to court Tom Hardy back for future installments, too, while there’s even been talk of a potential MCU crossover if everything goes according to plan.
That would, in theory, open up the door for Tom Holland’s Spider-Man to make a cameo appearance in the not-so-distant future, which would certainly please diehard fans of the Web-Head going forward. But like all those aforementioned spinoffs, Spider-Man’s possible cameo really hinges on the success of Venom, with Sony hoping to deliver a dark and grisly rendition of Marvel’s most famous anti-hero. Or as grisly as you can be without straying into R-rated territory.
Tethered with a PG-13 rating and more expectations than we can count, Venom officially slithers into theaters on October 5th, when Ruben Fleischer and Co. will light the fuse on Sony’s Universe of Marvel Characters.
