Sony is Reportedly Not Done With the SSU, But They Have a Better Plan Now

Back in December 2024, it was reported that Sony's Spider-Man Universe was coming to its definite end after the underwhelming release of Kraven the Hunter. The studio couldn't find much success crafting movies centered around Spider-Man-related characters without letting them cross paths with the web-slinger himself. Of course, the Venom saga did turn a profit — and even if critics never fell in love with them, audiences had a very different opinion about it. Unfortunately, the same couldn't be said for Madame Web, Morbius, or Kraven the Hunter, which all were nothing but a failure in the eyes of many.

Perhaps the worst part is that any planned SSU project would instantly have to deal with the curse of its predecessors. Audiences don't expect movies set in that universe to have a big or even decent level of quality, making them less likely to fill movie theaters once they are released. It didn't matter what the studio decided to do next, chances are they would have another commercial flop on their hands. That's why we weren't surprised to learn the SSU was officially dead... except maybe those reports were a bit exaggerated to begin with. Apparently, Sony still intends to produce many more Spider-Man-related projects in the coming years, but they could have a new direction this time around.

The SSU will reportedly feature Spider-Man variants moving forward

According to insider MyTimeToShineHello on X (formerly Twitter), the SSU will use Spider-Man variants moving forward — a brilliant yet obvious tactic that makes us all wonder why it wasn't the go-to plan from the beginning. That means projects such as El Muerto and Jackpot are still canceled, but audiences will get to watch more movies similar to Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse and Across the Spider-Verse. The first step in this potential plan will be set into motion later this year when the MGM+ and Amazon Prime series, Spider-Man Noir, hits the small screen.

When audiences think of Spider-Man, they usually picture Peter Parker — the timid teenager from Queens who currently has a big screen saga of his own in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. However, multiple people have taken on the mantle over the years, and some of them are definitely worthy of getting the spotlight all to their own. Miles Morales is, perhaps, the most obvious and likely choice. It's perplexing how he has yet to be depicted in any live-action project, aside from that small easter egg in Spider-Man: Homecoming. But while we'd love to see him swinging across New York's skyline sooner rather than later, it doesn't have to stop there.

While Spider-Man Noir will soon get a series, Spider-Gwen (or Ghost-Spider as she's called in comic book pages) could get the same treatment. Miguel O'Hara could very well star in a theatrical movie, as well as Silk who — for some time — was also supposed to have an Amazon series. Besides, how great would it be if we even had another version of Peter Parker a la Ultimate Spider-Man?

Tom Holland could keep leading his own franchise in the MCU while a new actor takes on the role of an older version Peter Parker who's married to Mary Jane and is also the father of two (and it's not like I've thought about this concept many times before, but Andrew Garfield would be the perfect candidate. I'm just saying). Besides, audiences are so used to the multiverse by now it wouldn't be that strange to have two simultaneous Spider-Man franchises on the big screen. That way, we could enjoy the best of both worlds: A version of Peter who's still in college and struggling to balance his life, and another one who has to provide for his whole family.

At this point, it's unlikely Sony will ever sell the rights of the wall-crawler back to Marvel. So fingers crossed they learn from all the failures of the current iteration of the SSU to make something greater in the feature with more iconic characters at the lead. After all, the Spider-Verse franchise has already proved we're all in for good Spidey-related stories. So, hopefully, more of those make our way sooner rather than later.