Tom Holland Confirms Sony Once Planned to Bring Venom and Morbius Into the MCU
There was a time when it looked like Sony's Spider-Man universe was heading straight for a collision course with the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Fans spent years wondering if Tom Holland's Spider-Man would finally cross paths with Tom Hardy's Venom. There were even rumors that it was going to happen. As it turns out, it almost did.
Holland has now confirmed that Sony really did have plans to merge its live-action Spider-Man universe with the MCU. It wasn't just fan speculation. According to the actor, it was an idea that was actively being developed, but it simply never came together.
Back in 2015, Sony Pictures and Marvel Studios reached a landmark agreement that allowed Spider-Man to become part of the MCU while Sony kept the rights to the larger Spider-Man character library.
That partnership gave Marvel access to Peter Parker while Sony launched its own interconnected universe featuring characters from Spider-Man's rogues gallery and supporting cast.
That universe kicked off with Venom in 2018, which became a massive financial success and earned enough at the box office to spawn two sequels. Sony followed it with Morbius, Kraven the Hunter, and Madame Web, hoping to build a larger franchise around those characters.
Unfortunately, each new release struggled more than the last, and after a string of disappointing box office performances, Sony ultimately pulled the plug on the shared universe and shifted its focus toward a fresh start.
Before those plans unraveled, though, Sony reportedly had much bigger ambitions. Speaking on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, Holland explained that Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group chairman and CEO Tom Rothman had been laying the groundwork for a crossover.
"[Tom] Rothman is a really smart guy, and I think that he was building this universe and they had this plan to kind of merge the world at some point. I think that they just never found the right time to do so.
“I think it was on the cards. But there were never any battles like, ‘We want you to be in this movie,’ and I don’t want to be in this movie. That never happened."
He went on to say: "I think that was the idea, that one day this would happen. And like lots of things in the creative world, it just never came to fruition."
Looking back, it's easy to see the breadcrumbs Sony was dropping. Venom: Let There Be Carnage ended with Eddie Brock witnessing a news report featuring Holland's Spider-Man, with Venom immediately recognizing him before both characters were pulled into the MCU.
Then Spider-Man: No Way Home featured Eddie Brock arriving on Earth-616 during Doctor Strange's fractured multiverse spell, teasing future possibilities before he returned to his own universe while leaving behind a piece of the symbiote.
Sony doubled down on those connections when Michael Keaton's Vulture unexpectedly appeared during Morbius' post-credit scenes and immediately started talking about Spider-Man, fueling even more speculation that the franchises were finally about to collide.
Then everything changed. Venom: The Last Dance reopened with Eddie's scene in the Mexican bar from No Way Home, but the dialogue had been altered and the multiverse connection was effectively erased.
After that, the crossover setup simply disappeared, and no future project addressed it again. With Sony's Spider-Man Universe struggling commercially, the connective thread tying it to the MCU was ultimately abandoned.
While that live-action crossover never happened, Sony still has another Spider-Man universe that's thriving. The animated Spider-Verse films continue to be one of the studio's biggest successes, with Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse set to conclude the trilogy next year.
Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige has already confirmed that a live-action Miles Morales is part of the MCU's future once the animated story wraps up.
The timing couldn't be much more interesting. Beyond the Spider-Verse arrives roughly six months before Avengers: Secret Wars, a film widely expected to reshape the MCU moving forward.
If Marvel follows the blueprint of the 2015 Secret Wars comic event, Miles Morales could make the jump from his own universe into the MCU in a way that feels completely natural.
Ironically, the crossover Sony originally envisioned with Venom and Morbius never materialized, but a future built around Miles Morales might prove to be an even better fit. It's certainly a direction that feels far more exciting than trying to revive a universe that already reached the end of the road.