From the very first moment it was announced that Sony is moving forward with its Spider-Man spinoffs Venom and Silver & Black, there’s been an immense amount of confusion as to their status alongside Spider-Man: Homecoming and the wider Marvel Cinematic Universe.
A lot of this confusion has been self-inflicted, with producer Amy Pascal suggesting they’ll share the same universe as Homecoming (and therefore the MCU) and Marvel’s Kevin Feige stating the opposite. However, it looks like we now have clarification from the duo.
Speaking to Fandom, Pascal said: “First, there is Spider-Man happily in the place where he’s supposed to be which is in the Marvel Universe. I think everything comes from that. This is the signpost, the tentpole, the signature, and the other movies that Sony’s going to make, in their relationship to this Spider-Man, take place in this world. Although you’re not going to see them in the Marvel Universe, it’s in the same reality.”
Following Pascal’s comments, Feige added that her explanation was “the perfect answer”.
So, presumably that means that Tom Holland’s Spider-Man is free to appear in both franchises, although the MCU won’t make any reference to events in the ‘SpiderVerse’ spinoffs or be influenced by it narratively in any way, and the ‘SpiderVerse’ won’t be able to make any reference to events outside of the main Spider-Man series, or elements of the MCU – such as Iron Man – that also appear within the main Spider-Man series.
What do you make of this scenario? Is Sony simply confusing the situation by moving ahead with its spinoffs? Will audiences consider them to be part of the MCU regardless? Let us know your thoughts below…
A young Peter Parker/Spider-Man (Tom Holland), who made his sensational debut in Captain America: Civil War, begins to navigate his newfound identity as the web-slinging super hero in Spider-Man: Homecoming. Thrilled by his experience with the Avengers, Peter returns home, where he lives with his Aunt May (Marisa Tomei), under the watchful eye of his new mentor Tony Stark (Robert Downey, Jr.). Peter tries to fall back into his normal daily routine – distracted by thoughts of proving himself to be more than just your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man – but when the Vulture (Michael Keaton) emerges as a new villain, everything that Peter holds most important will be threatened.
Spider-Man: Homecoming sees Tom Holland and Marisa Tomei reprising their roles from Captain America: Civil War as Peter Parker/Spider-Man and Aunt May, alongside Marvel veterans Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark, Jon Favreau as Happy Hogan, Gwyneth Paltrow as Pepper Potts and Chris Evans as Captain America. New additions to the cast include Michael Keaton, Zendaya, Donald Glover, Jacob Batalon, Laura Harrier, Tony Revolori, Bokeem Woodbine, Tyne Daly, Michael Barbieri, Abraham Attah, Hannibal Buress, Kenneth Choi, Angourie Rice, Michael Chernus, Michael Mando, Logan Marshall-Green and Jennifer Connelly.
Originally published June 29, 2017. Updated April 16, 2018.
