Exclusive: Kevin Feige And Amy Pascal’s Final Ruling On Venom In Marvel Cinematic Universe

It’s time to settle the debate, once and for all. Will Venom and the rest of Sony’s Marvel characters be a part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe?

Not at all.

Speaking to the heads of Marvel Studios and Sony Pictures, Kevin Feige and Amy Pascal, respectively, ComicBook.com got to the bottom of the debate which began a week ago — shortly after Tom Hardy was cast a Venom in a standalone film coming from Sony. Initially, Feige firmly ruled Venom out of his precious Marvel Cinematic Universe before Pascal, a day later, made a statement which sounded a lot like the character would be included.

Now, the official ruling from both is in after the debate took the Internet by storm.

“Here’s what we’re doing: all these characters are a part of the Marvel comic book universe,” Pascal said. “In that universe, they are all related to each other. Kevin [Feige] makes characters in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. These characters are separate, except for Spidey, who belongs in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which is why he’s there.”

When asked if this is an absolute confirmation that a Venom and Spider-Man crossover is officially off the table, Feige is quick to say “We never say never.”

However, he points out he would say the same thing about characters less likely than Venom to appear, as well. “You could ask me, ‘Is Superman gonna be there?’ I go, ‘Never say never,’ but not any time soon.”

The bottom line is Venom will exist in Sony’s Marvel Universe, without Spider-Man, while latter wallcrawler operates within the same world as the Avengers, completely independently from what Sony does with the rest of the Marvel properties.

Peter Parker actor Tom Holland is already on the same page with his film’s producers. “Everyone’s asking this question, man,” Holland told ComicBook.com. “It’s never happening.”

While the debate is finally resolved, it’s not put away before Feige’s reaction to Pascal’s previous sentiments became the world’s best meme. A good sport, Feige is fully aware of the Internet’s fun and has laughed about it himself. “It was my dream to be a meme,” Feige said.

“Can you please clear it up!” Pascal joked. “I’m gonna be famous for mixing things up. That’s what I wanted! I’m gonna be famous for f—ing up this whole thing.”

As for the future of Spider-Man films, Marvel Studios and Sony Pictures will continue to work together quite closely as Tom Holland’s character pops up in various films as well as two more of his own. “It’s a creative collaboration for sure,” Feige said. “The deal was, this is of course a Sony movie but we would produce it. We would make it in our system with our team.”

“It would have been silly for Sony to do this movie with Marvel and not get the benefit of what Marvel knows,” Pascal added. “The whole point was to trust other people and know when other people are really good at what they do.”

MORE SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING: Kevin Feige Reveals Marvel’s Next Movie After Avengers 4 / Tom Holland Says Venom Will Never Appear In His Spider-Man Movies / First Reactions Are Online / Here’s How Many After Credit Scenes Spider-Man: Homecoming Has

A young Peter Parker/Spider-Man (Tom Holland), who made his sensational debut in Captain America: Civil War, begins to navigate his newfound identity as the web-slinging super hero in Spider-Man: Homecoming. Thrilled by his experience with the Avengers, Peter returns home, where he lives with his Aunt May (Marisa Tomei), under the watchful eye of his new mentor Tony Stark (Robert Downey, Jr.). Peter tries to fall back into his normal daily routine – distracted by thoughts of proving himself to be more than just your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man – but when the Vulture (Michael Keaton) emerges as a new villain, everything that Peter holds most important will be threatened.

The cast includes Tom Holland, Michael Keaton, Zendaya, Donald Glover, Jacob Batalon, Laura Harrier, Tony Revolori, Tyne Daly, Bokeem Woodbine, with Marisa Tomei, and Robert Downey Jr. It also includes Jon Favreau, Martin Starr, Kenneth Choi, Michael Mando, Selenis Leyva, Isabella Amara, Jorge Lendeborg, Jr., JJ Totah, and Hannibal Buress.