Sony Pictures already had six films scheduled for release in 2021, including the third installment in their joint Spider-Man trilogy set within the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and as of this week, they’ve added a seventh film to their calendar, officially listed as an entry in their Universe of Marvel Characters – which currently includes Homecoming, Far From Home and that forthcoming threequel, as well as Venom and this year’s Morbius and Venom 2 – set to be released on October 8th.
That’s less than three months after the premiere of the third Spider-Man film, and what makes the date more intriguing is that it’s one that Sony will share with Disney, as the Marvel Studios parent company’s 2019 release schedule has an “untitled Disney live-action” movie listed for release on the second Friday of October.
It’s tremendously unlikely, however, that the common date indicates a mutual project, as the same schedule that lists Disney’s October 8th release also lists unnamed projects from Marvel Studios specifically as “untitled Marvel” films (with three listed in 2022 and four listed in 2023), and doesn’t list joint projects with Sony at all (the third Spider-Man film is notably absent).
Disney already has three movie from Marvel Studios as well as their joint project with Sony on their 2021 calendar, and they’ve also got another stratospherically high-profile release scheduled for October of 2021, with their recording of the Broadway smash hit Hamilton set to debut in theaters a week later on the 15th.
But with Marvel Studios set to do most of the heavy lifting with the third Spider-Man film and no other entry in Sony’s Universe of Marvel Characters currently scheduled for 2021, the latter may be taking the opportunity to put together its highly-anticipated Sinister Six villain team-up, particularly if the conclusion to Spider-Man‘s solo trilogy introduces big-game hunter Sergei Kravinoff, as has been reported.
In any case, Sony’s Universe of Marvel Characters continues to expand with the release of Morbius on July 31st and Venom 2 on October 2nd, with a third Spider-Man solo film set to debut on July 16th, 2021 and this mysterious new project scheduled to premiere on October 8th, 2021.