(Image source: Sony Pictures)
Just three days after The Wrap reported that Sony Pictures had halted development on its "Spider-Man" spin-off universe, ceasing further related productions, Variety magazine followed up today with another in-depth report revealing the internal operations of the "Sony's Spider-Man Universe" (SSU).
Variety indicated that many within Sony privately acknowledge the series has been a string of failures of varying degrees. One anonymous source admitted that the SSU's struggles are partly attributable to Hollywood studios' "irrational" overdevelopment of superhero content, a phenomenon that ultimately led to a decline in the genre's market appeal.
(Image source: Sony Pictures)
Behind closed doors, numerous Sony insiders concede that "Kraven the Hunter," "Madame Web," and "Morbius" were unmitigated creative and critical disasters. However, they also emphasize that the "Venom" series remains successful, at least in terms of box office profitability. Similarly, they consider "Morbius," which cost $75 million to produce and grossed $167 million worldwide, to have been profitable.
(Image source: Sony Pictures)
Another insider stated that the reason for Spider-Man's absence from the SSU to date is simply because Sony chose not to feature him. This decision is unrelated to their agreements with Disney or Marvel Studios, as Sony is not legally restricted from having Spider-Man appear. The underlying reason for not including him, according to the source, is an internal sentiment at Sony that audiences would not accept Tom Holland's version of Spider-Man appearing in films outside the MCU, especially after the release of "Spider-Man: No Way Home" and other multiverse-spanning projects.
As for why Tobey Maguire or Andrew Garfield were not brought in as alternate versions, Variety's source did not elaborate further.
via： Variety