Sony Pictures continues to produce films, but this strategy has not been successful in the post-MCU era. The dominance of Marvel’s cinematic universe has made other superhero franchises seem unnecessary. While there is certainly an audience for a lighter superhero series, the films themselves must be of high quality. Sony has faced challenges with this second requirement for the last ten years: its third attempt at a Spider-Man universe began promisingly with Venom in 2018, but subsequent releases have consistently underperformed. The studio persisted in its efforts to rejuvenate the Spider-Verse, even releasing three films in 2024. However, the performances of Madame Web and Kraven the Hunter demonstrated that the live-action Spider-Verse has been ineffective for a while.
According to insiders, Sony canceled all planned spinoffs following the box office disappointment of Madame Web, leading many to believe the Spider-Verse was over. Given the studio’s subsequent silence, this was a reasonable conclusion—but leadership may have simply shifted focus toward planning another large-scale reboot.
Sony CEO Tom Rothman recently suggested in an interview that the studio has “plans” to potentially restart the Spider-Verse. He stated that while characters like Mobius and Kraven were poorly utilized in their initial films, Sony intends to “go back to those” villains in a future reboot with a new creative team. He did not provide a timeline for this revival, but the mere consideration of another reboot is concerning.
This is not Sony’s first rushed reboot of its superhero properties; the studio has a history of taking extreme measures to maintain its licensing rights. These rights would return to Marvel if Sony fails to release a Spider-Man-related film every five years, a requirement that previously overshadowed concerns about quality. Now that Sony has suffered significant financial losses, there is hope that it will finally revise its approach.
To compete in an oversaturated market, Sony must change direction. Launching another reboot so soon would further tire viewers. However, there is a strategy for the studio to sustain its franchise without a traditional reboot. Sony already operates a highly successful and acclaimed superhero universe in a different format: animation. The studio could simply reintroduce its unsuccessful anti-heroes in animated form.
For decades, Sony’s live-action Spider-Man films have attempted to recapture the success of Sam Raimi’s trilogy, largely overlooking the studio’s strongest asset: animation. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse reinvented the property for a modern audience, who embraced it enthusiastically. By introducing a new hero, Miles Morales, from a parallel universe, Sony successfully refreshed the franchise. Because the Spider-Verse films exist within a multiverse, they can seamlessly incorporate various characters. This provides a perfect framework for a franchise seeking distinction.
Ideally, Venom would not be the sole character from Sony’s unsuccessful films to transition to animation. Integrating characters like Mobius, Madame Web, and Kraven into the animated multiverse would be the most straightforward solution to their disappointing live-action introductions. An animated approach could offer more creative and engaging versions of these characters. The multiverse concept allows for both comic-accurate and stylized interpretations to coexist. Crucially, this would avoid the audience confusion a new reboot would cause. The superhero genre is already overcrowded; it is time to allow the weaker live-action branch to recede so the stronger animated one can flourish.