Kraven the Hunter's release marked the end of the SSU
December gave us the release of the latest movie in Sony's Spider-Man Universe: Kraven the Hunter. What we didn't know at the time (but we all assumed) is that the cinematic universe of Spidey villains was coming to its definite end... for now, at least. Sony will rethink their strategy moving forward and cancel any upcoming projects such as El Muerto and Jackpot. Meanwhile, they'll focus on making Spider-Man 4 and Beyond the Spider-Verse the very best projects they can.
As of Jan. 2, 2025, Kraven the Hunter has grossed $53.1 million at the worldwide box office on a budget of $110 million (without accounting for marketing expenses). Needless to say, the movie will be far from earning the studio a profit at the end of its theatrical run. Besides, since no movie in the SSU has been a critical success, it's fair to say audiences will be less likely to show up if any other project gets made. The concept alone of making complete films around Spider-Man villains without letting them interact with wall-crawlers is flawed, to say the least. So perhaps Sony realizes that and attempts to do something different moving forward.
If Spider-Man: Noir and Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse prove to be a success, then we could have spin-offs starring other Spider-people. At the end of the day, we've yet to see beloved characters such as Miles Morales or Ghost Spider (Spider-Gwen) make their live-action debut. Chances are they'll succeed where the likes of Madame Web, Morbius, and Kraven failed.
Continued on the next slide...