Sony’s New Venom Movie Announcement Continues the Best Trend for Its Spider-Man Universe, and More Characters Should Follow Suit

Sony has announced a brand new Venom movie, but it’s likely not what most fans were expecting. With the mainline Spider-Man films as part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Sony has opted to focus on live-action projects featuring Spider-Man villains. Venom was the first and was a box office hit, followed by disappointing releases like Morbius and Kraven the Hunter. Venom‘s financial success led to two sequels and a cameo in Spider-Man: No Way Home, but it feels like the story of Tom Hardy’s take on the character is complete.

With their biggest hit seemingly in the rearview mirror, people have wondered what was next for Sony and their Spider-Man license. In an interview with Joshua Horowitz of Happy Sad Confused, producer Amy Pascal announced that a new Venom film is in the works and it’s actually an animated movie. This marks a change in direction for Sony, and it’s actually a welcome move because the studio’s history with the Spider-Man license shows that animation is where they thrive. Sony needs to make animated films their priority with Spider-Man from now on.

Sony Should Focus On Animated Spider Projects Going Forward

While 2018’s Venom was a commercial hit that grossed more than $850 million, critics were negative about it. The sequels followed suit, performing well at the box office and receiving lackluster reviews. The rest of Sony’s Spider-Man Universe had trouble on both fronts. Morbius, Madame Web, and Kraven the Hunter all flopped commercially and were blasted by audiences and critics, becoming more popular as memes. The lack of Spider-Man definitely played a part in why Sony missed the mark with its universe.

One place where Sony hasn’t had an issue, though, is with its animated releases. Sony Pictures Animation has become a powerhouse studio in the genre thanks to hits like KPop Demon Hunters. In 2018, they released Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, which many consider the best Spider-Man film ever made. It was a critical darling that won Best Animated Feature and succeeded at the box office. Its sequel, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, is also incredible, upped the stakes, and cemented Sony’s status as one of the studios to check out if you want to see fantastic animated filmmaking.

While it’s hard to match the Spider-Verse series in terms of how many unique visual styles are utilized and the sheer number of characters involved, Sony Pictures Animation clearly knows what they’re doing. They could put out movies featuring these characters that are great. They could also be made on smaller budgets, which would allow them more leeway in terms of their box office intake. The concept is less risky and opens the door for a higher potential reward. Their track records in both live-action and animated Spider-Man projects make this a no-brainer.

Venom Is A Perfect Choice For An Animated Movie

When it comes to comic book adaptations, animation is always a great way to go. The characters are born on the pages in animated form, so that tends to make them translate to that medium especially well, and a character like Venom is a perfect example of that idea. His look is purposely over the top, as Venom is often depicted as massive, from Spider-Man: The Animated Series to Insomniac’s Spider-Man 2 video game. The same goes for the live-action Venom films, and while it looks good there, it could never quite match the animated iterations.

In the live-action format, Venom has to be made entirely of CGI. As impressive as the technology can be, there are still times when it looks just a bit off, including when Venom is throwing people around or when he’s shapeshifting. That doesn’t happen with animation. This also plays into the budget, as making these things look convincing through CGI can get very expensive. While it’s not totally cheap through animation, it costs much less. With animation, there aren’t as many restrictions either, meaning a Venom movie could do almost anything it wants.

Sony Has Several Spider-Man Characters Perfect for Animated Films

If Sony is intent on not featuring Spider-Man at the forefront of their movies outside of the Spider-Verse series, then sticking with animation is great because plenty of characters from that world are ideal for the format. In terms of heroes, people have been clamoring for a Spider-Woman film, especially since Hailee Steinfeld’s take on Gwen Stacy steals the show in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. The visual style of her universe is one of the best things about that film and would be breathtaking to see in a feature-length project.

The same could be said about Spider-Punk (Hobie Brown), who also appeared alongside Gwen in that film. Even if Sony chose to stick with villains as their protagonists, there are some great options. The freedom that animation allows could make for something truly spectacular with someone like Carnage, Mysterio, or Mister Negative. Someone like Kraven the Hunter feels like he would work better in an animated medium. They could even go a more comedic route with Spider-Ham. The possibilities are basically endless for Sony’s Spider-Man films if they continue to go the animation route.

The third film, Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse, has a release date of June 18, 2027.