Sony’s New Spider-Man Universe Movie Has The Perfect Chance To Fix 2 Major Marvel Credits Scene Problems

The Sony Spider-Man Universe’s next upcoming project, Madame Web, is primed to solve some of the franchise’s most confusing moments, and could also expand the franchise into Marvel’s live-action multiverse, potentially even connecting to the MCU. Releasing as part of the SSU, Sony’s live-action superhero franchise based on Spider-Man-related characters from Marvel Comics, Madame Web is set to premiere on February 14, 2024. The upcoming project will introduce Dakota Johnson as Cassandra Webb, a clairvoyant paramedic who uses her precognitive abilities to protect three emerging Spider-Women, played by Sydney Sweeney, Celeste O’Connor and Isabela Merced, from a new live-action adversary.

Madame Web is the SSU’s fourth live-action project, following 2018’s Venom, 2021’s Venom: Let There Be Carnage and 2022’s Morbius. While Tom Holland’s Peter Parker, a.k.a. Spider-Man, inhabits the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the SSU is currently without its own version of the wall-crawler, but has developed several villains from Spider-Man’s rogues gallery in Marvel Comics. Madame Web, however, has the potential to expand the franchise more than any other project. The upcoming film may make sense of some of the SSU’s most confusing and controversial moments, while also hinting at more direct connections to the MCU and other Spider-Man franchises.

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Madame Web Can Open Up Sony’s Spider-Man Movie Multiverse

Until now, Sony’s Spider-Man Universe hasn’t explored the concept of the multiverse in any significant way, though there have been hints that the multiverse will be important to future storylines. Madame Web may change this drastically, as Cassandra Webb has a huge impact on multiverse storylines in Marvel Comics, so this could be adapted for Dakota Johnson’s version of the character in live-action. In Marvel Comics, Madame Web is a central figure in Spider-Man’s multiversal Spider-Verse stories thanks to her precognitive mutant ability, which means that 2024’s upcoming Madame Web could explore the multiverse more than any previous SSU project.

Speaking to Variety in January 2024, Jeff Gomez, an executive producer at Starlight Runner Entertainment – who helped bring Tom Holland’s Spider-Man into the MCU back in 2016 – commented on Madame Web’s place in the SSU’s multiverse. Gomez noted that, in the comics, Madame Web “tied together the multiverse for ‘Spider-Man’ characters,” before suggesting that “the purpose of doing [the Madame Web movie] – [he] would think – would be to essentially set up a superhighway between universes.” This seems to imply that Madame Web will actually make clear connections between all the disparate threads of Sony’s Spider-Man Universe.

Madame Web Can Pave The Way For Sony’s Sinister Six

One of the most confusing aspects of Sony’s Spider-Man Universe is the franchise’s constant teases of a Sinister Six team, despite there currently being no Spider-Man for the team to battle. The most overt tease towards the formation of the SSU’s Sinister Six came during 2022’s reviled Morbius, which saw Michael Keaton’s Adrian Toomes dragged from the MCU into the SSU. Once again suiting up as the Vulture, Toomes met with Jared Leto’s Michael Morbius to begin his next conquest against Spider-Man. Morbius’ post-credits scene has been a huge point of confusion, but Madame Web can finally provide an explanation.

If Madame Web creates stronger bonds between the SSU and the MCU, using Cassandra Webb’s abilities to build bridges between the two franchises, Morbius’ post-credits scene could begin to make more sense. While it was first assumed that Doctor Strange’s spell somehow sent Adrian Toomes into the SSU, this explanation didn’t actually fit in the rules of his magic. However, it’s possible that Madame Web herself may have dragged the Vulture out of the MCU, ready to be a key player in the SSU’s future Sinister Six team, perhaps alongside Morbius, Tom Hardy’s Venom and Aaron Taylor-Johnson’s Kraven the Hunter.

Madame Web Can Make Venom’s MCU Trip Worth It

Tom Hardy’s Eddie Brock, a.k.a. Venom, has been the most popular fixture in the SSU, though there have been calls for him to be shared between Sony and Marvel Studios. This would allow Tom Holland’s Spider-Man to battle against this iconic adversary, and Venom: Let There Be Carnage and Spider-Man: No Way Home may have made this possible. Somehow – without knowing Peter Parker’s identity – Doctor Strange’s botched spell in No Way Home brought Eddie Brock into the MCU, but created a major missed opportunity, as he spent his time drinking in a Mexican bar before being sent back.

This doesn’t have to be a one-off, however, as Madame Web may open the multiverse wider than ever before, potentially allowing Tom Hardy’s popular Venom to cross over into the MCU much more regularly. Indeed, the events of Madame Web could also allow Tom Holland to appear in the SSU, perhaps setting himself up as the franchise’s official version of Spider-Man, since one hasn’t yet been introduced. Seeing Spider-Man and Venom battle in either the MCU or the SSU would make No Way Home’s tease worth it, and could pave the way for some epic moments in the SSU’s future.

Madame Web Can Further Connect Sony’s Spider-Man Universe To The MCU

While it’s very unlikely that the massive MCU would make direct connections to Sony’s Spider-Man Universe, as the popularity of the latter would perhaps have a detrimental impact on the former, it’s possible that connections could be made in the other direction. If Madame Web blows open the live-action Spider-Verse – not to be mistaken with Sony’s animated Spider-Verse featuring Miles Morales – the SSU could begin to reference the events of the MCU. This would help solve some issues, as the Vulture’s existence in the SSU would make sense, and Venom’s visit to the MCU would have more weight.

Since the relationship between Marvel Studios and Sony Pictures is presumably still going strong, it is, of course, possible that SSU characters may appear in Avengers: Secret Wars. Phase 6’s crossover event is expected to feature characters from several Marvel franchises, so this would be a great opportunity for characters such as Venom, Morbius, Madame Web and the new Spider-Women to make their way into the bigger franchise. Madame Web could mark the beginning of the integration of these two franchises, though it’s more likely that Sony will focus on their own franchise before dabbling in the world of another.