Sony Has A Plan To Connect Its Marvel Movies To The MCU
The Sony corner of the Marvel Cinematic Universe is a shadowy place — not quite MCU-proper but not fully divorced from the universe, either. Against all odds, and flying in the face of every studio's seemingly insatiable need to expand their shared universes until they're too big to comprehend, "Venom" seemed to take place in a world devoid of Spider-Men, while "Morbius," weirdly, shows signs of including both "Homecoming's" Vulture and the Sam Raimi trilogy's Spider-Man suit. Even by the standards of a world where radioactive bug bites make a man's fingers extra sticky, nothing seems to make any sense.
But according to Sony Pictures Motion PIcture Group president Sanford Panitch, it's only a matter of time before their intricate web comes ... full circle? What do webs do? Before all the pieces fall into place. On their web. Or something. "We don't really think of our 900 characters as the Spidey-verse," Panitch told Variety of the Sony stable of characters during a recent interview. "We have a Marvel universe. The volume of characters we have — you know, wait until you see this next 'Venom.' You don't miss Spider-Man."
And then, ever so slightly giving away the game, he continued, "It'll be exciting if they do meet, right?"
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"There actually is a plan," the executive continued, and in the noble tradition of what feels like everyone involved in the upcoming sequel "Spider-Man: No Way Home," Sanford Panitch went on to pretty blatantly hint at the multiverse aspects of "Spider-Man: No Way Home." "I think now maybe it's getting a little more clear for people where we're headed and I think when 'No Way Home' comes out, even more will be revealed," he told Variety.
For as far back as anyone can remember — that is to say, since about early 2020 — the Spidey threequel has been surrounded by rumors of multiverse shenanigans. The reality-spanning sci-fi concept was alluded to during "Spider-Man: Far from Home" when Mysterio falsely claimed to have traveled from another dimension. More hints popped up during the film's post-credits sequence, in which a very J.K. Simmons-looking J. Jonah Jameson made an appearance, and again when Alfred Molina just flat-out told reporters that he was reprising his role as Doctor Octopus for the first time since 2004's "Spider-Man 2."
High-concept though it is, audiences have already seen the multiverse work wonders as a plot element during "Into the Spider-Verse." Additionally, based on the title "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness," we can assume that Marvel is doubling down on making this the next big thing in the MCU. Most of all, it's important to remember that opening the door for Sony's Marvel characters to enter the MCU proper would finally give us the opportunity to see the Avengers, as a whole, fight Woody Harrelson. All of our most deeply-held wishes are about to come true.