Sony Still Has Plans For A Spider-Man Cinematic Universe

The day that Sony and Marvel decided to bury the hatchet, combine their efforts and work toward crafting a collaborative Spider-Man movie was a turning point. It’s not unheard of for studios to join forces on projects, but for a universal brand like the webslinger, you might expect Sony to happily keep him at home.

Luckily, the deal between the two studios resulted in Tom Holland being cast as Peter Parker. After his exuberant debut in Captain America: Civil War, he’s now hard at work headlining the first in a new series of Spidey flicks, Spider-Man: Homecoming. Beyond his first solo outing, there’s been no concrete news on the future of the webhead. We know that Sony is financing and Marvel is creative chief, but what about more movies set in a new Spider-Man universe?

Well, according to Sony Pictures chairman Tom Rothman, plans for Spidey’s own universe – separate from the Marvel Cinematic Universe that he’s very much a part of – are still in play. Here are the three pertinent questions and answers from his recent interview with THR:

Since you teamed with Marvel, do you plan to make a whole Spider-Man universe? Do you have plans for more work with Marvel?

Yes to both those questions. It’s been fantastic, our relationship with Marvel.

Who has greenlight authority?

Sony has the ultimate authority. But we have deferred the creative lead to Marvel, because they know what they’re doing. We start shooting the new Spider-Manin Atlanta [in mid-June].

Do you want to trim the costs of that franchise?

I don’t want to trim costs. I want to make money. And sometimes you make money by trimming costs and sometimes by investing in things that are profitable. A movie like Spider-Man by Marvel, that’s not inexpensive. But it’s a great investment. Knowing that Marvel has such a clear, creative vision, I sleep very well at night.

The last attempt to rekindle the Spider-Man franchise gave us Marc Webb’s two-movie series, which was met with a lacklustre response due to its similarity to Sam Raimi’s franchise. When a potential third outing for Webb and co. was axed, it seemed as if the long-rumored spinoffs for Sinister Six, and so on, were also tossed out.

If what Rothman says is true, it could be that those spinoffs merely needed anchoring to a better ‘main’ Spider-Man movie at the heart of the franchise. If Spider-Man: Homecoming delivers, that Venom film might get the greenlight after all.