by Matthew Yapp
Sony has been shaking things up in the Spider-verse. As of today, the rollercoaster of emotions that was Spider-Man leaving the Marvel Cinematic Universe has ended. Sony and Marvel have officially reached an agreement, and our beloved Tom Holland will be staying in the MCU for at least two more movies. That being said, Sony isn’t done with Spider-centric films. In fact, aside from Spider-Man 3 and 4, Sony has five more films set in a shared universe with 2018 Venom. Most of the characters are relatively unknown, and have certainly never seen the silver screen before.
If you’ve never read a comic book, have no worries! Because this article will break down the backgrounds of all the characters that are expected in the Venom-verse.
Morbius
Morbius the Living Vampire will be played by Jared Leto in 2020. Morbius, AKA Dr. Michael Morbius, first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #101 in 1971. He was a Nobel Prize-winning biochemist with a rare disease that caused his blood to dissolve. In order to save his own life and not sadden his fiance, he began secretly working on a cure using bat’s blood. Unfortunately, in true comic fashion, an electrical shock used during one of his experiments with the bat’s blood led to him transform into a strange, vampire-like creature. Morbius went on a rampage due to a new lust for blood from living victims, which put him at odds with Spider-Man. Although he started as a villain, he later became an anti-hero fighting vampiric cults, the Caretakers of Arcturus, and even Hydra. It’s unclear right now if the film will be portraying Morbius as more of an anti-hero or just a straight up villain. Either way, it’s gonna be weird.
Venom 2 featuring Carnage
Venom 2018 re-introduced us to Spider-Man 3’s big bad, but this time he was the star of his own film. He also got to be played by the love of my life, Tom Hardy. Now, whether or not you think the first move was good or bad (it was bad), it will be getting a sequel in 2020, directed by Andy Serkis. Luckily, the after credit scene told us exactly where this sequel would take the story. The film ends with Eddy Brock going to a maximum security prison, where he meets infamous serial killer Cletus Kasady, played by Woody Harilson in a bad wig. Cletus Kasady is the original host for the Symbiote villain Carnage. He made his first full appearance in The Amazing Spider-Man #361 in 1992. Carnage is actually an offspring of Venom, and when he attaches himself to Mr. Kasady, their psychotic nature amplify one another, making them a brutal killing machine driven by a lust for destruction. Carnage is one of the more fearsome villains in the Marvel universe, so him squaring off against Venom will be quite the challenge for our anti-hero. In the past, we’ve actually seen Spider-Man and Venom team up to put a stop to Kasady’s Carnage, so I’m eager to see if this may be something that Sony attempts to take a swing at.
Into the Spider-Verse 2
My personal favorite Spider-Man movie ever is getting a very anticipated sequel. While we don’t know a ton about the plot at this point, we do know there is going to be an emphasis on a budding romance between Miles Morales and Gwen Stacy, according to producer Amy Pascal. At this point, no cast has been confirmed, but we do know we will be seeing the film helmed by director Joaquim Dos Santos, known for The Legend of Korra. The film is being written by Dave Callaham, who is also writing the Wonder Woman sequel.
All-female Spider-Verse spin-off
On top of a sequel, we are also getting a spin-off film featuring all the different Spider-women teaming up with fan favorite, Gwen Stacy, as the lead. The film is to be directed by Lauren Montgomery and produced by Amy Pascal. While we don’t know too much about plot, it has been confirmed by Pascal that the film will feature fan favorites Cindy Moon and Jessica Drew, who are the superheroines, Silk and Spider-Woman, respectively. While no exact date has been confirmed, you can expect the Spider-women to hit the big screen sometime after the Into The Spider-Verse sequel.
Madame Web
This one really is a choice. Sony has decided to have the Morbius writers, Matt Sazama and Burk Sharpless, also pen a Madame Web film. Madame Web, AKA Cassandra Webb, first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man 210 (1980). She was born in Salem and suffered from a rare neurological disease that it made it difficult to move or breathe. However, because it’s a comic book, her rare disease also gave her psychic powers, prompting her to become a medium. She is generally depicted sitting in a large, spider-throne that she can’t leave, as it is actually a life support machine. She’s had an interesting run in the comics, as she is typically more of a background character acting as a sort of oracle. She was a part of The Gathering of Five, an arcane ritual which granted her immortality. An immortal psychic who doesn’t leave her life support throne isn’t the movie I was expecting from Sony, but I’m eager to see how they try to spin it.
Sources: Variety, Marvel, Fandom, Digital Spy, Vanity Fair,
Images: Entertainment Weekly, CBR, Forbes, Gizmodo, The Playlist
Featured Image: Matthew Yapp
