Sony Pictures’ Madame Web is the next Marvel movie on the horizon and has led some fans to question whether it is technically a part of the MCU or not.
Madame Web recently released its first official trailer despite being announced in 2019. The revealed footage showcased Dakota Johnson's Cassandra Webb, Sydney Sweeney's Julia Carpenter, and Isabela Merced's Anya Corazon.
Seeing as how other Sony Marvel projects such as Venom and Morbius have lightly connected with the MCU, the big question regarding Madame Web is how it will fit into the big picture.
Madame Web's Connections to the MCU
In short, Madame Web is Sony property and part of Sony’s own interconnected Spider-Man Universe (SSU), which means that it is not a part of MCU canon.
However, that doesn't mean that the film won't contain plenty of references and connections to the Marvel Cinematic Universe as other SSU movies have done in the past.
For example, Adam Scott will reportedly be portraying Uncle Ben in the upcoming film, and one of the major rumors that have stemmed from the character having a role in the movie is that he will be the connecting point to the MCU and possibly even the Spider-Verse franchise.
It is important to note that, despite Tom Holland's Peter Parker being such a prominent figure in the MCU, Uncle Ben has never actually appeared on-screen. However, the character was mentioned by Peter in What If...?, so fans know that he does exist in that universe.
That technically means Scott's Uncle Ben could be a Variant of the Uncle Ben that was in the MCU.
Since Variants and the Multiverse are so important right now, Sony may want to capitalize on that and make Uncle Ben a connection to the MCU.
It is critical to remember that Venom: Let There Be Carnage and Morbius both featured connections to the MCU with the former showing Tom Hardy's character crossing over into the Earth-616 universe and the latter featuring Michael Keaton's Vulture.
The MCU was also connected to the Spider-Verse in general through Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse when Donald Glover's version of the Prowler (who first showed up in Spider-Man: Homecoming) showed up.
With that being said, Uncle Ben could be just one of many connections Madame Web will make to the MCU. It is also possible that Sony could be setting up its own Multiverse that may coincide with the MCU's.
Madame Web's Connection to the Multiverse
Madame Web has a connection to the Multiverse through something called the Web of Life and Death, and it is a bit different than anything that has been featured on-screen before.
This allows the hero to access every point in time and also travel between different realities.
If Madame Web does utilize the Web of Life and Destiny, Sony could make it to where the Web will ultimately lead to a crossover between the SSU and the MCU.
As previously mentioned, Eddie Brock and Morbius were already teased to be connected to the Multiverse in some way, so Madame Web could push the SSU over the edge to where it can utilize the Multiverse completely.
One logical way that this could happen is through Incursions, which have already been mentioned in projects such as Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
An Incursion is what happens when two universes collide and either one or both of the involved universes are destroyed.
If the universe that Madame Web is set in were to be at risk of an Incursion, then it is possible that Madame Web could use the Web of Life and Destiny to cross over into the Earth-616 universe, finally bringing to life a proper crossover between the SSU and the MCU.
However, it is important to note that the SSU and the MCU probably won't be crossing over anytime soon. The latter is currently still building toward Avengers: The Kang Dynasty and Avengers: Secret Wars, and bringing in yet another full-fledged universe before either of those projects happens would likely make things much too convoluted and confusing.
Madame Web is set to be released in theaters on February 14, 2024.
