Spider-Man: Brand New Day (2026) has already been a huge success for Marvel Studios, and its performance could force Sony to rethink the future of its own Spider-Man franchise.
Having already earned $942 million worldwide, the latest Tom Holland-led adventure has reminded audiences that Peter Parker remains one of Marvel’s biggest box-office draws, potentially changing how Sony approaches its own collection of Spider-Man-related characters.
For years, Sony attempted to expand the franchise beyond the web-slinger himself with a series of villain-focused spinoffs, including the Venom trilogy, Morbius (2022), Madame Web (2024), and Kraven the Hunter (2024). While Venom became a financial success, the wider Sony Spider-Man Universe struggled to achieve the same level of popularity as the MCU Spider-Man movies.
Earlier this year, Sony chairman and CEO Tom Rothman addressed the future of those projects during an appearance on The Town podcast (via The Hollywood Reporter), revealing that the franchise was being reconsidered.
When asked where the larger Spider-Man universe stood, Rothman said it was receiving a “fresh reboot” with “new people.”
Related: ‘Spider-Man’ Post-Credits Glitch Sets Up Tobey Maguire’s Potential Multiverse Comeback
Sony’s Spider-Man Universe Future Uncertain
Now, following the release of Brand New Day, Rothman was asked again about Sony’s Marvel characters in an interview with Variety. “Right now, we don’t know,” he said when discussing whether there were plans to continue developing those films.
The executive also explained that Sony never viewed the franchise as one connected universe.
“We never looked at it as the ‘Sony-Marvel Universe,’” Rothman said. “We looked at if there were worthwhile movies to make with other characters. At the moment, there are none in active development.”
While Sony has not abandoned its Marvel characters entirely, the success of Brand New Day demonstrates where audience interest remains strongest.
For now, the only Spider-Man-adjacent project still moving forward at Sony appears to be a fully animated Venom film. Unlike the studio’s live-action villain movies, however, it is expected to stand on its own rather than continue the now-dormant Spider-Man Universe.
With Tom Holland’s Spider-Man continuing to dominate the box office, Sony may now look for a different strategy — one that puts the character audiences know and love at the center of future plans.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day is now in theaters.
The film stars Tom Holland as Peter Parker/Spider-Man, Zendaya as Michelle “MJ” Jones-Watson, Jacob Batalon as Ned Leeds, Jon Bernthal as Frank Castle/Punisher, Tramell Tillman as Bill Metzger, Michael Mando as Mac Gargan/Scorpion, Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner/Hulk, and Sadie Sink as the X-Men mutant Jean Grey.
Do you think Sony made the right decision with its Spider-Man franchise? Would you like to see these characters return, or is it time to move on? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
