With months to go until the premiere of Marvel Studios' highly-anticipated Spider-Man: No Way Home film, the internet has been buzzing with all sorts of rumors regarding possible cameo appearances that could happen. While a majority of the leaks remain unconfirmed, a new statement by the top boss at Sony Pictures suggests that the dream Spidey crossover could occur during the film as speculated.
At the top of the list of rumored No Way Home appearances are the original Spider-Man characters played by Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield, with recent leaks hinting at their possible involvement with Tom Holland's character in the upcoming sequel. Of course, all parties allegedly involved have either denied such rumors or remain tight-lipped.
Sanford Panitch, the president of Sony Pictures Entertainment, revealed to Variety that "there actually is a plan" to connect the MCU and Sony Universe. While he was careful not to spoil any of the fine details, he did promise that "more will be revealed" when Spider-Man: No Way Home comes out. That said, it's likely that No Way Home will kick off a shared Marvel universe to usher in a new era for the Spider-Man franchises. Speaking on Sony's partnership with Marvel, Panitch added that they have an excellent relationship with Kevin Feige, the president of Marvel Studios, and that Sony fully supports the MCU films since success for them means success for their own Marvel Characters.
A Spider-Man crossover in live-action format seems to be the natural next step, given how things have been set up in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) and the Sony Pictures Universe of Marvel Characters (SPUMC) so far. Marvel has run full steam ahead with the multiverse concept since The Infinity Saga came to a close, with its Phase 4 slate seemingly laser-focused on plotlines involving alternate realities and time travel. Comparatively, Sony introduced its own multiverse concept with Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse, which went on to win an Academy Award for Best Animated Film in 2019. With both studios experiencing massive success from their Spider-Man titles, it only makes sense that both Marvel and Sony would want to create a shared Marvel universe between their properties.
For now, fans will have to wait and see what surprises No Way Home has in store. Tom Holland recently said it was the "most ambitious standalone superhero movie ever made," so the expectations for the film are naturally high. So far, a number of Sony characters have been confirmed to show up in No Way Home, including Alfred Molina's Doctor Octopus and Jamie Foxx's Electro.
Sony also has a Venom sequel coming out this year, as well as a Kraven the Hunter project in the works starring MCU's Quicksilver Aaron Taylor-Johnson. With more Spider-Man characters being added to the mix, the live-action Spider-Verse could end up being the stuff of legends.
Spider-Man: No Way Home lands in theatres on December 17, 2021.
Source: Variety