Nic Cage’s Spider-Man Return Can Give Sony Exactly What The Spider-Verse Is Missing

With the disappointing release of Madame Web, Sony’s Spider-Verse is looking more flimsy than ever, but reports that Nic Cage’s Spider-Man Noir will be returning to the non-MCU franchise might be what the ailing franchise needs. Sony’s Spider-Man Universe is currently composed of four movies, including Venom, Venom: Let There Be Carnage, Morbius, and Madame Web. So far, reviews for each of these have been mixed at best, and 50% were box office flops. This isn’t all too surprising when considering that the titular hero of the Spider-Man Universe hasn’t appeared beyond the briefest of cameos.

The current trend indicates that the lukewarm response to the series of Sony live-action Spider-Man villain origin stories will continue for the franchise, which is gearing up to release Kraven the Hunter in August. While there is something to be said about the overall quality of the movies hampering their success in cinemas, an often-cited problem with Sony’s Spider-Verse is that the enthusiasm isn’t there for Spider-Man stories that don’t include the iconic web-slinger himself. Yet, amid calls for Sony to simply release Spider-Man 4 or The Amazing Spider-Man 3, Nicolas Cage could instead swoop in with a bold yet no less exciting alternative.

Related

Every Sony Spider-Man Universe Movie Ranked From Worst To Best

Sony’s Spider-Man Universe is still getting its footing in the superhero genre with four divisive movies. Here’s how they rank against each another.

Nic Cage Is Reportedly Returning As Spider-Man Noir

Nicolas Cage first portrayed the Spider-Man variant, Spider-Man Noir, in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse where he appeared alongside Spider-People from alternate universes. With Sony’s box office failures dominating the conversation of late, it can be easy to forget that the same studio is responsible for the box office smashes that comprise its animated Spider-Man universe starring Shameik Moore’s Miles Morales as the eponymous hero. In these movies, Peter Parker does feature, but as various Spider-Man variants from universes outside of Morales’ Earth-1610.

Nicolas Cage makes an appearance as one of these variants, Spider-Man Noir, a monochromatic version of Peter Parker from a universe in which he takes up the Spider-Man mantle in 1933, referencing Film Noir and bringing an exaggeratedly brooding characterization similar to DC’s Batman. Though he had comparatively few speaking lines, Cage’s Spider-Man Noir became a firm favorite, and will reappear in the final movie of the trilogy: Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse. This has led to the development of a live-action Spider-Man Noir spinoff series, and recent reports suggest that Cage himself is in talks to reprise the role.

Related

What’s Next For Miles Morales? Everything We Know About Spider-Man: Beyond The Spider-Verse

Miles Morales and his allies will return for a third Spider-Verse adventure following the exciting ending of Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.

Sony’s SpiderVerse Doesn’t Work Without Spider-Man

Although Spider-Man’s rogue gallery is iconic, it is becoming apparent that their stories aren’t as compelling when not juxtaposed with the web-slinger himself. As the superhero that binds them (literally and figuratively), the characters of Sony’s Spider-Man Universe feel lackluster when Spider-Man is nowhere to be seen. This stands to reason, given that the cinematic universe’s title includes the name of the character that never seems to feature. This makes the enterprise seem just a little misleading to viewers who are expecting in vain to see Peter Parker or a variant swing into the action.

Spider-Man is one of Marvel’s most popular heroes, with Sony’s lowest-grossing live-action Spider-Man movie, The Amazing-Spider Man 2, still raking in over $700 million at the worldwide box office. Morbius, by comparison, earned a fraction of that sum with just $163 million worldwide. Even Sony’s animated movies, which are less likely to be box office smashes due to the medium, blow the latest Spider-Man villain movies out of the water, with the lowest-grossing Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse netting $375 million worldwide.

Why Spider-Man Noir Is Perfect For Sony

While it may behoove Sony to allow Tom Holland’s version of Peter Parker to continue thriving as part of the MCU (since his story comprises some of Marvel’s highest-grossing movies), the success of the animated Spider-Verse movies helps to prove that Spider-Man variants are just as popular as regular Peter Parker. With that being said, there are several Spider-Man movies that depict his origins and tussles with main-universe villains, while the door is wide open for an alternative story. Spider-Man Noir offers up a unique spin on the character while still capitalizing on his name.

This should give Sony the opportunity to recuperate recent losses while still tying live-action Spider-Man to its brand. The beauty of Spider-Man’s link to the multiverse is that there are countless different Spider-Man stories to be told in various genres. Spider-Man Noir has every opportunity to be as fresh and exciting as Sony’s animated Spider-Verse movies, which is something the studio could now begin to lean into more.