Why Sony’s Spider-Man Film Universe is Failing…
With the highest of hopes, there was an attempt to replicate what has made Marvel so successful, and with three entries it seems as though it is all but doomed; as we discuss why Sony’s Spider-Man film universe is failing.
It is remarkable to imagine that late last year saw the arrival of one of the biggest films in history, and it came to become the most successful movie that Sony Pictures has ever had a hand in creating.
Source: Marvel Studios
The movie is one of the biggest Spider-man adaptations of all time and spoke to the relentless connection of that iconic character to audiences ever.
The reality, however, is that- despite the immense popularity of the character and his history on the big screen- Sony has had more misses in films surrounding the character than success stories.
Source: Sony Pictures/ Marvel
Spider-Man: No Way Home, and Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse have been the greatest successes of the past decade for the studio, but still, it has attempted what is almost impossible; to recreate over a decade of endless successes for Marvel Studios.
That endeavor has already proven to be a greater failure than not, with three entries arriving to at best- mixed results.
Morbius (Jared Leto) in Columbia Pictures’ MORBIUS.
But the biggest question has to be why? Why is Sony’s Spider-man film universe failing so miserably?
The answer is anything but simple, and it starts with a misplaced understanding of the very connection that Spider-Man has with fans, and what has made these films so successful.
Source: Marvel
Sony has built this cinematic universe of Spider-Man characters on the premise that fans desire to see these villains in action, but that is only half true because the power of Spider-Man is that fans want to see these villains interact with their favorite hero.
Marvel has been able to build characters that all stood on the foundation of decades worth of success in the world of comic books; becoming some of the most beloved heroes the medium has seen.
Photo: Sony Pictures
Adversely, Spider-Man has built the fanbases for these iconic villains, but they are only as good as their conflict with the hero that they face off against.
Morbius is a lot less interesting when he isn’t confronted with the moral righteousness that Spider-Man represents. Kraven is a lot less interesting when he doesn’t have the moral compass that is the hero he is hunting.
Source: Marvel Studios
There is hope that Sony could defy the odds and make these characters interesting. Still, the reality is that the endlessness of their greed and desire to copy what Marvel has done will not speak to their displaced understanding of what audiences want, and the characters they love.
