Sony appears to be moving forward with its own anthology of Marvel films based around the Spider-Man mythos, with Morbius set to be the studio's next release, followed by sequels to both Venom and Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. As far as the future goes, the likes of Jessica Drew/Spider-Woman, Black Cat, Silver Sable, Kraven the Hunter, Madame Web and even the Sinister Six all reportedly have projects in development as well. However, some Marvel Cinematic Universe fans aren't entirely thrilled at the prospect of these movies, or even Sony's involvement -- considering attempts to "cancel" the studio after its working relationship with Disney/Marvel Studios fell through (before later being mended). Still, as exceptional as the MCU is, Sony's line of Spider-Man films definitely has its place in the world of Marvel-based films, despite what some might say. As the old adage goes, "Variety is the spice of life."
Part of what makes Marvel comic books so great is the sheer amount of variety available. The current global health crisis that has effectively derailed the comic book industry notwithstanding, you can walk into a comic shop on just about any given day, pick up several different Marvel books and have them be drastically different from one other in terms of their tone, themes and art style. Compare that to Marvel Studios' films, which are certainly great, if a bit samey.
Over the years, there's actually been a lot of that comic-esque variety in film adaptations of Marvel properties. Say what you will about Fox's X-Men film franchise, but it was experimental, especially towards the end. Between raunchy comedies like the Deadpool films, a gritty western in Logan and even a horror movie like the long-gestating New Mutants, it's safe to say Fox has actually done a solid job at subverting what is generally expected from Marvel movies.
Disney even had its very own alternative to Marvel's main big-screen product in Marvel Television, which has provided some truly excellent content over the years. Between the adult-oriented Netflix drama lineup headlined by the masterpiece that is Daredevil, teen-oriented series like Freeform's Cloak & Dagger or Hulu's Runaways and even a period drama in the form of Agent Carter, Marvel TV has quite a bit to choose from to fit different moods.
However, that variety is sort of going away. Disney purchased Fox and an MCU reboot of the X-Men brand is inevitable. The vast majority of Marvel characters that had previously been licensed out to other studios have since been reacquired by Marvel Studios. Even Marvel Television is now effectively dead as a division of the company, having largely been phased out in favor of Marvel Studios' upcoming Disney+ lineup. At this point, the only studio left that actually can offer a take on Marvel characters separate from the MCU is Sony. And again, as consistently good as the MCU product is, it's still nice to have something different.
With its growing slate of Spider-Man films, Sony has already proved its ability to make enjoyable movies based on properties that Marvel Studios likely wouldn't have anytime soon, if at all. And it works because of all of Marvel's heroes, Spider-Man's cast of supporting characters and villains is easily one of Marvel Comics' deepest and strongest. If there's one Marvel property that can carry a cinematic universe all on its own, it's the Spider-Man mythos.
While Sony has made Spider-Man films as far back as Sam Raimi's original trilogy in the early-to-mid 2000s, the company's most universally beloved addition to the franchise has to be the masterful 2018 animated feature Into the Spider-Verse, which pushed the boundaries of animation to craft a comic book film unlike any other. But as great as Spider-Verse is, and as important as it for movies like it to continue to come out and prove that animated movies (like comics) are so much more than mindless "kid stuff," Sony's place in the world of Marvel movies has the potential to extend far past animation.
Also in 2018, Sony began its budding franchise of live-action Spider-Man spinoff films with the release of Venom. And say what you will about the shortcomings of its story, plot and visuals -- that doesn't change the fact that Venom is just an enjoyable film that's loads of fun to go back and revisit. (He who is tired of Tom Hardy sitting in a lobster tank is tired of life.) On top of that, a live-action Venom solo film is something we likely never would've even gotten had Sony not been in the picture.
It all goes back to the depth of Spider-Man's rogues gallery. So many of the characters associated with Spidey -- even the more esoteric ones -- have a lot of on-screen potential that Sony is free to tap into while Marvel is busy building its larger universe. Marvel Studios could put out another five MCU Spider-Man movies, and we'd be extraordinarily lucky to see Black Cat in any of them, let alone Silver Sable, Morbius or Madame Web. Decry these characters as being too obscure for the big screen all you like, but that never stopped Guardians of the Galaxy from making an impact.
When it comes to Spider-Man films, Sony tends to get a bad rap. Rather than focus on its great films like 2002's Spider-Man, Spider-Man 2, The Amazing Spider-Man or even Into the Spider-Verse, some like to hyper-fixate on shortcomings like Spider-Man 3 and The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (the latter of which absolutely does not deserve its reputation as Spidey's worst film.)
Marvel Studios has done some fantastic things with its characters, Spider-Man very much included. But not unlike Fox and Marvel Television before it, Sony's Spider-Verse seems to represent what Marvel Studios isn't doing. You may see this as a good thing or a bad thing, depending on the project, but the films deserve to be made regardless, because that variety is what makes Marvel, well, Marvel. The comic books have something for quite literally everyone, from Spidey and the Mini-Marvels all the way to Punisher MAX. So, why shouldn't the films be the same way? Avengers and Black Panther are great, but sometimes, you may want something like Venom or Into the Spider-Verse -- and you deserve that option. Yes, Marvel Studios tends to hire the cream of the crop, but there are also plenty other filmmakers out there who have great ideas as well, and Sony's Spider-Verse allows them to bring those visions to life.