Sony Pictures has effectively confirmed the shelving of its Spider-Man Universe (SSU), the shared franchise built around Spider-Man villains and side characters, after a run of films failed to connect with audiences. Chairman Tom Rothman told Variety that no SSU films are currently in active development, marking the end of an era for the studio's attempt to build a Marvel-style cinematic universe outside the core Spider-Man films. The news lands even as Sony enjoys a huge box office hit with Spider-Man: Brand New Day, underlining that audience appetite is for Tom Holland's web-slinger himself rather than the wider rogues' gallery.

The SSU produced films including Venom, Morbius, Madame Web and Kraven the Hunter, several of which were poorly received by critics and underperformed commercially. Rothman said Sony never conceived of the project as a rigid "Sony-Marvel Universe" but as an exploration of whether standalone films built around other characters were worthwhile, and concluded plainly that "the audience is the boss, and they didn't respond." He stopped short of declaring the universe permanently dead, but confirmed there are no further films currently planned.