Sony's Spider-Man Universe

Sony's Spider-Man Universe (SSU) is an American media franchise and shared universe centered on a series of superhero films produced by Columbia Pictures in association with Marvel Entertainment. Distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing, the films are based on various Marvel Comics characters and properties commonly associated with Spider-Man.

Sony Pictures, which owns the film rights to Spider-Man, began work on an expanded universe using supporting characters from the Spider-Man films by December 2013. The studio planned to use The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014) to launch several spin-off films focused on Spider-Man villains from the comics, including a Venom film. After the relative critical and financial disappointment of The Amazing Spider-Man 2, these plans were abandoned and in February 2015, Sony announced a deal to collaborate with Marvel Studios on future Spider-Man films and integrate the character into the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). This relationship produced Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019), and Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021), while Sony separately re-developed Venom (2018) as a stand-alone film with its own fictional universe. Sony and Marvel Studios renegotiated their deal in 2019 to share the Spider-Man character between the MCU and their standalone Marvel-based films.

Venom was followed by Venom: Let There Be Carnage (2021) and Morbius (2022), both of which have mid-credits scenes that feature elements from the multiverse concept to link the SSU with the MCU, while Sony's animated Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (2023) is also connected to the SSU. These were followed by Madame Web and Venom: The Last Dance in 2024, which both feature additional characters related to Spider-Man in the comics. Most films from the SSU have been received poorly; Venom, Morbius, and Madame Web received negative reviews from critics, while Venom: Let There Be Carnage and Venom: The Last Dance received mixed reviews. The franchise has grossed over $2 billion worldwide, although Morbius and Madame Web were commercial failures.

The next film in the franchise is Kraven the Hunter, scheduled to be released later in 2024, while Sony has several more live-action films based on Marvel characters in various stages of development. Sony Pictures Television is also developing several live-action television series set in the same shared universe, including Spider-Noir.