Spider-Man's popularity remains as high as ever moving further into 2022 thanks to multiple movie universes utilizing the web-slinger on the big and small screen. Sony and Marvel teamed up to deliver the biggest movie of 2021 in Spider-Man: No Way Home, while Sony also works solo on its own batch of Spidey films in a couple of different continuities.
Over the next couple of years, the studio behind the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man has several new projects set to make their mark on the big screen to keep the hero going. While Tom Holland's Spider-Man 4 in the MCU is still some time out, the animated Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, along with Kraven the Hunter and Madame Web, are all set for premieres in 2023 alone.
With all this new material coming from Sony, there's still the lingering question of how the different stories exist alongside one another. Now, coming from a recent report that gave an update on both the aforementioned Spider-Man 4 and Sydney Sweeny's Madame Web. In that same report, Sony's CEO provided some clarification on just how everything works with managing it all.
Sony's Branches for Spider-Man Movies
As reported by Deadline, Sony Pictures CEO Tom Rothman explained how the company categorizes its Spider-Man-related properties.
Rothman revealed that Sony groups its "Marvel business... into three tranches " based on the past & future movies that they encompass:
1.) The animated Spider-Verse trilogy. According to Rothman, "We're currently at work on two Spider-Verse sequels to our Oscar-winning animated movie, with [Phil] Lord and [Chris] Miller."
2.) The Tom Holland-led Spider-Man movies, co-produced by Marvel Studios. Rothman hopes that "the whole group" of cast & filmmakers, including Holland, Zendaya, and director Jon Watts, will return for a fourth installment.
3.) Sony's Spider-Man Universe live-action movies, which are "adjunct to the Spider-Man universe," with upcoming movies that include the Aaron Taylor-Johnson-starring Kraven film releasing next year as well as the Madame Web movie set to start filming imminently.
Spider-Man Stories in Three Tranches for Sony
While this report doesn't confirm that these universes exist separately from one another, it helps make it clearer how Sony focuses its attention on the movies across its own Spider-Verse. This also gives fans a better indication of the distinction between all three core stories Sony is telling, both with Marvel Studios and on its own.
Although there is no indication of whether these universes will ever cross over with one another, making sure everything is organized behind the scenes is especially important considering how many characters and plots Sony has at its disposal.
Now, the wait continues to see how Sony expands on these stories over the coming years, with plans already set for as far out as 2024. Tom Holland has his own Spider-Man trilogy confirmed for development within the MCU, and with a second part to Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse and a third solo Venom film, the studio will remain among the heavy hitters for the foreseeable future.
