Not every Spider-Man movie has been smooth sailing behind the scenes, and some trials and tribulations have caused huge problems for Peter Parker’s live-action and animated adventures on the big-screen. Whether in the Marvel Cinematic Universe or in movies produced by Sony Pictures, Spider-Man persists as one of the most beloved, successful, and profitable superheroes in Marvel’s repertoire. This popularity has spurred reboots, remakes, and recasts, but these have often come with some major issues for Spider-Man’s movies.
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During a period of financial difficulty for Marvel in the late 1990s, Sony bought the film and TV rights to the character of Peter Parker’s Spider-Man, who originally debuted in Marvel Comics in 1962’s Amazing Fantasy #15. This allowed Sony to develop a number of live-action and animated Spider-Man movies, but each faced its own set of problems, and the more recent deal between Sony and Disney — which allowed Spider-Man to join the MCU — has also been tumultuous. While some problems are easily fixed and have been all but forgotten, others threatened Spider-Man’s entire theatrical career.
5) Sony Interfered With Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 3
Shortly after Sony bought the rights to Spider-Man, Sam Raimi was hired to develop a series of movies starring Tobey Maguire, the last of which was Spider-Man 3 in 2007. Unfortunately, Spider-Man 3 buckled under the weight of immense studio interference, despite Spider-Man and its 2004 sequel being well-received. Spider-Man 3 marked a disappointing end to the series, as Sony pressured Raimi to include too many threads, including the new villain, Venom. Spider-Man 3 suffered from including too many villains, a convoluted narrative, and a meme-worthy “Emo Peter Parker,” and would have benefitted from Sony staying out of Raimi’s way.
4) Shameik Moore’s Controversial Behavior May Impact Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse
While most Spider-Man movies focus on Peter Parker’s wall-crawler, the animated Spider-Verse movies developed by Sony Pictures Animation explore the rise of Miles Morales’ Spider-Man. Morales is voiced by Shameik Moore, who has recently been the subject of some controversy following a surge in inappropriate comments, social media posts, and unusual videos that have made viewers and his castmates uncomfortable. Most notably, Moore made attempts to hint at a romantic relationship with Spider-Verse co-star Hailee Steinfeld — who voices Gwen Stacy’s Spider-Woman — despite her engagement.
Moore was also called out for “weirdo” behavior by Spider-Man: Homecoming star Laura Harrier after he posted a video teasing a romance between them that didn’t exist. Moore’s reactions to Steinfeld and Harrier denying any romantic connection to the Spider-Verse movie star have been awkward, too, all of which could have a detrimental impact on the upcoming release of Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse. Some have suggested this behavior could have already caused the movie’s production delays, but it remains to be seen whether it will have a larger impact on the highly-anticipated movie’s overall success.
3) Spider-Man 4, The Amazing Spider-Man 3, & Spinoffs All Collapsed Before Getting Closure
Thanks to Sony’s interference, Spider-Man 3 didn’t fare as well as hoped, which culminated in a planned Spider-Man 4 being cancelled. Marc Webb subsequently replaced Raimi to develop a reboot focused on Andrew Garfield’s Peter Parker, but even this new series didn’t go to plan. Just like Raimi’s Spider-Man 4 — which would have included John Malkovich’s Vulture and Anne Hathaway’s Black Cat — The Amazing Spider-Man 3 was later cancelled, as were several spinoffs that would have explored Venom, the Sinister Six, Black Cat, and more. None of these stories got closure as they were all cancelled before their time.
2) Disney & Sony’s Deal Ending Almost Removed Spider-Man From the MCU
Thanks to the Russo brothers’ lobbying, in February 2015, Sony Pictures and Marvel Studios reached a licensing deal to bring Spider-Man into the MCU proper. Tom Holland debuted as a new Peter Parker in Captain America: Civil War, and quickly became the most popular version of the wall-crawler, but his time as Spider-Man almost came to a bitter end in 2019. Amid discussions for Marvel to expand its deal with Sony, the deal broke down entirely, which would have caused Spider-Man’s removal from the MCU and integration into Sony’s Spider-Man Universe. This spurred backlash from fans and from Holland himself.
For a time, Sony Pictures Entertainment chairman Tony Vinciquerra remained steadfast in his belief that no deal could be made and Sony could develop future Spider-Man movies alone. Many fans didn’t agree, however, and the huge backlash to this decision urged Marvel and Sony to strike a new deal, which led to the development of Spider-Man: No Way Home in 2021, and allowed more sequels, including the upcoming Spider-Man: Brand New Day, to be confirmed. In the long run, this may have strengthened Disney and Sony’s bonds, but it left Spider-Man’s future hanging in the balance for quite some time.
1) Sony’s Spider-Man Universe Failed to Include Spider-Man
Venom had originally been planned to be a spinoff from The Amazing Spider-Man 2, but it became a separate entity altogether when Marc Webb’s franchise was cancelled. Instead, the 2018 movie kick-started a new franchise, Sony’s Spider-Man Universe, which followed some of Spider-Man’s greatest enemies from Marvel Comics as protagonists of their own stories — none of which included the wall-crawler himself. At the start, Spider-Man’s absence wasn’t much of a problem, but, as the SSU progressed, the lack of Peter Parker became more and more awkward. Ultimately, this culminated in the death of Sony’s Spider-Man Universe.
The Venom trilogy was mostly well-received, though Venom: Let There Be Carnage and Venom: The Last Dance experienced their own issues. Conversely, Morbius, Madame Web, and Kraven the Hunter were all major box office bombs and huge disappointments for Sony, which ultimately made us grateful Spider-Man remained in the MCU and did not fall solely under Sony’s control back in 2019. The absence of Spider-Man in Sony’s unaptly-named Spider-Man Universe seriously damaged the franchise, but set up the wall-crawler for more exciting adventures in the MCU proper.
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Image courtesy of Lucasfilm
