As someone who’s been a lifelong comic book enthusiast and moviegoer, I can’t help but feel a sense of disillusionment as I watch Sony’s Spider-Man Universe crumble before my eyes. I remember the excitement that built up when they announced their plans for an expansive shared universe back in the 2010s. The potential was immense, with the promise of interconnected stories and iconic characters coming together on the big screen.
The disappointing opening weekend performance of “Kraven the Hunter” has signaled the demise for Sony’s Spider-Man Universe and its films centered around lesser-known characters from the Spider-Man universe, such as Madame Web and Venom. This year was crucial for the SSU, as it had an advantage over both DC and Marvel, with three significant releases scheduled in 2024 (Madame Web, Venom: The Last Dance, and Kraven). Only Venom 3 managed to make money ($475.5 million on a budget of $110 million), but even that success was overshadowed by the fact that the third installment saw a nearly 50% drop in earnings compared to the first film’s $856 million. The writing is clear: mainstream audiences aren’t interested in Spider-Man movies without the presence of Spider-Man.
And here’s the thing: nobody’s ever really it.
Sony’s Spider-Man Universe Has Had Some Amazing Stumbles
The shortcomings of Morbius, Madame Web, Kraven, and to some degree Venom are the most recent and less than impressive attempts by Sony to establish a Spider-Man franchise capable of matching the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s success. Going back to the 2010s, Sony initially aimed to create a shared Spider-Man universe centered around Andrew Garfield and his Amazing Spider-Man series. The Amazing Spider-Man had two movies in 2012 and 2014, laying the groundwork for two more films, a Venom spinoff, and a Sinister Six film that would bring together some of Spider-Man’s most formidable adversaries.
In the wake of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 generated an impressive $700M on a budget over $200M, but falling short of a billion dollars and some fan criticism labeled it as a “branding failure.” This decision to abandon the entire Amazing Spider-Man series now appears foolish in hindsight, given the struggles that followed with subsequent Spider-Man spinoffs. It seems even more bizarre when considering that The Amazing Spider-Man aimed to construct its universe around a genuine Spider-Man character (portrayed by a beloved actor), who was slated to star in most, if not all, of the spinoffs. Fans debated whether The Amazing Spider-Man Universe could truly challenge the MCU; however, Sony persisted in the belief that there was still potential to develop this universe, despite less involvement from Spider-Man years later.
Why Sony’s Spider-Man Universe Was Doomed From the Start
Sony surmised that the broader achievement of its collaboration with Marvel Studios, particularly the blockbuster box office performance of Tom Holland’s Spider-Man movies within the MCU, would generate enough buzz to persuade fans to invest in a whole series of Spider-Man-themed films, regardless of whether Holland is involved.
Making that bet seemed reasonable, but there’s an issue: Sony consistently struggled to establish significant connections between these films and Spider-Man beyond the thinnest of threads. For instance, Venom never displayed a spider logo, and Morbius left audiences puzzled by suggesting a collaboration among Spider-Man’s villains, even including Michael Keaton’s Vulture who was supposed to be part of an entirely different dimension. Madame Web resembled a prequel to Spider-Man that had all references to the Web-Slinger removed, and Kraven the Hunter feels like it doesn’t share the same universe with any Spider-Man or SSU film.
As a movie enthusiast, it’s no secret that crafting these massive Sony Superhero Universe (SSU) films, aiming to elevate characters like Morbius and Kraven the Hunter into leading franchises, was already an arduous endeavor. However, when Sony decided to release these movies without any substantial links between them or a meaningful connection with Spider-Man, they essentially doomed their potential success from the start. Even if each film had been a masterpiece in its own right (which unfortunately, they weren’t), the lack of ties to a significant character (Spider-Man) or a popular universe (Marvel Cinematic Universe – MCU) would likely have left fans unimpressed anyway.
In today’s world, neither the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) nor the DC Universe (DCU) can be considered guaranteed successes. It’s high time for the Smallville Universe (SSU) to meet its end.
Kraven the Hunter is in theaters.
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2024-12-17 22:42