Spider-Man 4 might be the talk of the town in the Marvel universe, as we’re dying to see Sony and Marvel announce the sequel, but it’s not the only highly-anticipated Spidey movie fans want. Sony still has to deliver the final entry in the Spider-Verse trilogy, an animated project that was delayed as soon as Across the Spider-Verse hit theaters.
If you’re waiting for a Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse release date update, don’t get your hopes up. A new report suggests that Sony might take its time with this one for a reason I didn’t see coming. Apparently, Sony doesn’t know how to end Beyond the Spider-Verse.
As a big fan of the Spider-Verse films, I hope Sony isn’t going to ruin this one too. I’m ready to accept whatever Sony does with Spider-Man 4, but Beyond the Spider-Verse better be amazing.
Mind you, some minor spoilers might follow below.
When Sony announced the Beyond the Spider-Verse delay, I said it’s actually great news. I want the third installment in the Spider-Verse story to be just as good as the previous ones. I don’t mean just the story, but the animation and the music. It’s the whole package that makes this Spider-Man story so good.
The Spider-Verse is my favorite Sony Spider-Man adventure, and I say that as an MCU fan who favors the MCU’s Peter Parker over the others. Still, Sony absolutely nailed it with the two Spider-Verse episodes released so far that I’d hate to see it fumble the finale.
That delay seemed to be related to the actual job of animating the third part. It made sense, considering what we saw in the previous episodes. The animation is a large reason the Spider-Verse stories are so good. It allows Sony to add a layer to the story that’s not exactly possible in live-action.
But fast-forward to mid-November 2024, and we have some unexpected developments. First, Sony installed a Spider-Verse teaser a few days ago in New York, which suggested a Beyond the Spider-Verse release date announcement was imminent. However, that wasn’t the case. Instead, it was part of a Sony promo for its latest TVs.
That’s according to Brand Davis and his Phase Hero podcast guests. More disturbing is something that Davis shared himself. He says Beyond the Spider-Verse is “very far off,” and that it might not even be animated. That’s because Sony restarted the script after the Across the Spider-Verse release. Apparently, they don’t have an ending, at least not one they could agree on. Oh, boy!
Up until now, I was worried Sony would ruin Spider-Man 4 by demanding too much of what should be essentially a soft reboot for the character. Reports said Sony wanted the movie to be as big as No Way Home and feature multiversal elements, such as the Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield Spider-Men.
Marvel wanted a more grounded story, which is the way to go. That’s how you rebuild towards another big No Way Home success. These are rumors, of course, but it makes sense.
Sony wants its Spider-Man Universe (SSU) to rival the MCU, and it’s hurrying us there. But Sony hasn’t learned to make good SSU stories. The only exception is the Spider-Verse films. And yes, I include the Tom Holland Spider-Man movies in the list of Sony-made Spider-Man movies that could be better.
While I’ll ultimately accept whatever happens in Spider-Man 4, assuming the rumors are true and Sony has its way with the story, I don’t want to also have to worry about Beyond the Spider-Verse. This is one movie where Sony should not make mistakes. What I mean to say is that Sony execs should let creatives cook.
Not to mention that Sony and Marvel have a great chance here to link the Spider-Verse to Avengers: Secret Wars and possibly bring this version of Miles Morales (Shameik Moore) to the MCU. For that to happen, Beyond the Spider-Verse should hit theaters well before May 2027, when Secret Wars premieres.
Hopefully, my worries are unwarranted, and we’ll get official news about Beyond the Spider-Verse real soon. On that same note, hopefully, Spider-Man 4 will also see an official announcement soon.