With “Venom,” which hits theaters next week, Sony is expanding its Spider-Man universe.
The upcoming tentpole stars Tom Hardy as Eddie Brock, a journalist who becomes the host of an alien symbiote and unwittingly adopts the terrifying alter-ego Venom. Venom has a long comic-book history with Spider-Man — in fact, Spidey was Venom’s first host. However, Sony has said that Spider-Man won’t be in this movie, and instead will tell a different origin tale for the famous villain.
It’s far from the only Spider-Man-related property in the works. While the web-slinging hero may not be involved in many of the projects, the studio is mining his universe for standalone projects focusing on several characters. One of the highest-profile films in the works: “Morbius,” starring Jared Leto as a scientist who, after a horrific accident, develops vampiric traits. “Safe House’s” Daniel Espinosa is set to direct the film.
“Silver and Black,” another highly anticipated movie in the works, will focus on two Spider-Man-adjacent characters: the mercenary Silver Sable, and the burglar Black Cat. The movie, directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood, was set to debut on Feb. 8, 2019, but was pulled from Sony’s release schedule. The studio said at the time that it’s looking for a new date.
Marvel characters Nightwatch and Silk are also being eyed for movies, with Spike Lee in talks to direct the former. We compiled a list of other characters from the Spider-Man universe that Sony may want to look to for standalones. Which movie would you most like to see? Weigh in below!