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Tom Holland admits there was a plan to merge his Spider-Man with Sony’s Spider-Man Universe
Tom Holland has said Sony had considered moving his Spider-Man into its own shared universe if the studio’s agreement with Marvel had ended. The disclosure matters because it suggests the character could have been separated from the Marvel Cinematic Universe and connected instead to Sony’s spin-off films.
The possibility emerged during the 2019 dispute between Sony and Disney over the Spider-Man partnership, before the companies reached a new agreement. Holland described Sony’s alternative as a “really wonderful idea”, but did not reveal its full details; reports at the time linked it to potential crossovers with films such as Venom and Morbius.
In short
- Sony considered taking Holland’s Spider-Man outside the MCU.
- The plan surfaced during 2019’s Sony-Disney dispute.
- Possible links to Venom and Morbius were discussed.
Steelman: both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
A Sony-led Spider-Man universe could give the character a distinct identity and let Sony develop stories and crossovers with greater creative control. It might also bring together characters such as Venom and Spider-Man in ways that appeal to fans of the comics and spin-off films.
The case against
Keeping Spider-Man in the Marvel Cinematic Universe could preserve the character’s established relationships and narrative continuity with other Marvel heroes. A move into Sony’s separate universe might make those connections harder to sustain, while the reported plan remains too vague to show that its proposed crossovers would serve the character well.
Explained simply
Spider-Man is owned by Sony but has appeared in films from the Marvel Cinematic Universe through a partnership with Marvel Studios (part of Disney) since 2016. This unusual arrangement allows the character to appear in both Marvel films and Sony's separate films featuring other Spider-Man villains and related characters. The partnership has become one of the entertainment industry's most significant character-sharing deals.
In 2019, Sony and Disney became embroiled in a public dispute over their Spider-Man partnership, creating uncertainty about whether their arrangement would continue. If the two companies had failed to reach agreement, Sony could have reclaimed the character entirely and incorporated him into its own universe of Spider-Man-related films. Such a separation would have severed Spider-Man from the broader Marvel film universe and confined him to Sony's own Spider-Man universe.
Sony had apparently developed plans to integrate Spider-Man into this alternative universe, bringing him alongside films featuring characters such as Venom and Morbius. This contingency would have allowed crossovers between Spider-Man and Sony's other Marvel properties within a separate cinematic universe. The two companies eventually resolved their differences and renewed their partnership, meaning Sony never needed to pursue this alternative vision.