After years of attempts and a series of mixed results, the “parallel” universe built by Sony around characters linked to Spider-Man is ready for a radical change. We’re not talking about the animated Spider-Verse, nor Tom Holland‘s Peter Parker’s journey in the Marvel Cinematic Universe: here, the focus is on the so-called live-action universe of spin-offs and villains which, on balance, has never managed to find a truly stable course.
The new direction was confirmed by Tom Rothman, president and CEO of Sony Pictures, as a guest on The Town podcast. Pressed by host Matt Belloni on the fate of the live-action Spider-Man Universe and, in particular, on whether this expanded “Spider-Verse” (outside of animation) was now to be considered closed, Rothman cut short, clarifying that for Sony, it is not over at all. In fact, the intention is to return, but to start from scratch. Without mincing words, the manager confirmed that the idea is for a “fresh reboot,” with a new beginning and new characters involved, also focusing on a strategy of waiting and ‘absence’ towards the audience: “Scarcity has value… you have to make the audience miss you.”
In the same conversation, Rothman also confirmed for the first time a rumor that had been circulating since 2021: Spider-Man: No Way Home was not released in China because the ending is set at the Statue of Liberty. The executive points out that the film grossed $1.9 billion and comments, “It pisses me off to have to say this,” adding that for him, the gross is “over $2 billion” because “I know what we would have done in China.” And on the request from the China Film Administration, he recalls, “Small thing, no problem, just cut the Statue of Liberty,” specifying: “I couldn’t wait to sit in front of Congress and explain why I cut the Statue of Liberty at the request of the Chinese Communist Party.”
The change of course comes after a string of disappointments, with the exception of the Venom trilogy. The first film of 2018 remains the peak of the “old” course with $856 million worldwide, while Morbius stopped at $162 million globally, Madame Web at $100 million, and Kraven the Hunter at $60 million worldwide, against an estimated production budget of over $100 million. As for the projects “in the pipeline” that have fueled the Spider-Man Universe in recent years, the picture remains in flux: El Muerto, the spin-off starring Bad Bunny, has been removed from Sony’s release schedule and currently has no new date. Hypno-Hustler, announced as a film starring and produced by Donald Glover, had also been presented as part of the expansion of the Sony universe.
And Spider-Man? The “main” one isn’t stopping: Tom Holland will still return to the big screen with Spider-Man: Brand New Day, part of the plot of which was revealed in recent days and whose release is already set for July 29, 2026.
