Could Spider-Man 3 Bring Venom Into the MCU?

After a month of seemingly failed negotiations and veiled insults between the two companies, Disney and Sony Pictures have finally come to an agreement about Spider-Man's future in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. At this point, Marvel Studios will produce one more Spider-Man film for Sony, and they will also be able to use the character in another crossover movie that will be released by Disney. This is considered a huge win for the fans, while the business-end of the deal is still under a lot of scrutiny. But one factor fans might not consider is what this means for Sony's own Spider-Man franchise.

For the first time in an official capacity, Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige made mention of Sony's own Spider-Man spinoff universe, which already boasts the successful Venom movie with a sequel on the way. But Feige's words make it seem clear that Holland's appearance in future Spider-Man spinoffs is inevitable.

"I am thrilled that Spidey's journey in the MCU will continue, and I and all of us at Marvel Studios are very excited that we get to keep working on it," said Feige. "Spider-Man is a powerful icon and hero whose story crosses all ages and audiences around the globe. He also happens to be the only hero with the superpower to cross cinematic universes, so as Sony continues to develop their own Spidey-verse you never know what surprises the future might hold."

That last part about being able to "cross cinematic universes" is telling, but it might be a bigger sign that Sony and Marvel Studios are willing to work even closer together so their own plans don't feel so separate after all. In fact, it could lead to an appearance from Tom Hardy's Venom in the third Spider-Man movie.

So far, it seems clear that Sony wants wider recognition from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and the Venom franchise is the best opportunity to make that expansion. On its own, the first Venom movie managed to exist in a way that it could easily be incorporated into the MCU while still remaining insular.

But now that Marvel and Sony have expanded on their original deal, there can be a formal process in which the Spider-Man spinoff movies are allowed a bit of leeway in carving out their own space in the MCU that allows Feige to ignore it as he sees fit, much like he did with the Marvel Television shows.

It should also be stated that under the current plan, Marvel is likely working on thematically ending Spider-Man's arc in the MCU — don't expect to catch Feige doing another cliffhanger and possibly not following up on his plans in similar circumstances.

But if the two do have intentions of riding this wave out into the foreseeable future, adding Venom into the mix in the third Spider-Man movie would go a long way into establishing a strong partnership between both companies.

Marvel's third Spider-Man movie is currently set to premiere in theaters on July 16, 2021.