Spider-Man 3 is shaping up to be the must-see flick of Phase 4.
In the month of October alone, the threequel added Jamie Foxx's Electro and Benedict Cumberbatch's Doctor Strange to the already all-star cast. Marvel loves to make their trilogies' third installments big ( Thor: Ragnarok , Captain America: Civil War ), and Peter Parker's third MCU solo outing is looking to be no different.
NEWS
According to Daniel Richtman's Patreon , there is a "general interest" from the studios for Tom Hardy's Venom to show up in Spider-Man 3 . It is unclear if the interest if from Sony, Marvel, or both. Richtman says there have been no real talks yet, and Hardy's involvement would presumably be for just a cameo role.
Could we finally be getting closer to merging the 'Sony-Verse' with the MCU?
WHAT THIS MEANS
From Kraven the Hunter whispers , to Jamie Foxx's Electro joining the cast, to this Venom rumor, Spider-Man 3 is looking absolutely stacked.
Plot details are still thin, but based on Spider-Man: Far From Home 's post credits scene , fans do know that Peter Parker will be 'on the run' in some form. Mix in a potential ruthless Russian hunter and a confirmed electrical adversary to boot, and our web-slinger has his toughest test yet. Possibly bringing in Tom Hardy's Venom to this already stacked rogues gallery would not just turn Spidey's world upside down, but would be a game-changer for comic book movie universes going forward.
Let's take a stroll down memory lane.
In February of 2015, Sony introduced Spider-Man to the MCU, leasing their wall-crawler to Kevin Feige and company for five movies (a duo of solos and three team-up appearances). In October of 2018, Sony Pictures released Venom , a flick centered around Spidey's antithesis. Despite being about a Spider-Man character, Peter Parker did not appear in that movie, even though Tom Holland was rumored to have filmed a scene for it. After Spidey's five-picture MCU deal wrapped in the summer of 2019, Marvel and Sony briefly divorced after re-negotiations broke down. Nonetheless, they made amends, and in September of 2019 they extended Spidey's stay in the MCU with a two-picture deal (a solo and a team-up appearance).
Now, why does all that matter? After Venom 's massive box office haul, Sony began moving forward with their own "Sony-Verse," separate from MCU canon. They greenlit a Venom sequel, and were even ready to release a Jared Leto-led Morbius flick this past summer. In the past, Kevin Feige has made clear that those films do not factor into MCU storylines, but what if he's changed his mind?
A Venom appearance in Spider-Man 3 has two potential outcomes. Outcome 1: Feige wants to bring the Sony-Verse flicks into the fold. He sees the money behind a live-action Spider-Verse, and is already laying the pieces for a massive inter-dimensional crossover . Outcome 2: Feige is setting up Spidey's exit from the MCU. A two-picture extension is not exactly a long-term deal, and it's entirely possible that Sony and Marvel made temporary amends with the sole purpose of wrapping up Peter Parker's MCU arc. With Doctor Strange confirmed to be joining the fold , it is entirely possible that he's the one who sends Peter into Venom 's universe.
It is extremely important to note that this is entirely just a rumor. No talks have happened yet. However, if Tom Hardy joins the Spider-Man 3 cast, the implications are game-changing.
Spider-Man 3 is set to swing into cinemas on December 17, 2021.
MCU Writer, Editor, Podcaster
