While Sony Pictures is going deeper into making a Spider-Man cinematic universe for Peter Parker's enemies, it is not really about them being villains at all. For the last few years, Sony has been working with Marvel Studios to produce Spider-Man films set within the MCU. As they are completing Tom Holland's trilogy later this year, that isn't Sony's only priority for the Spider-Man brand. Since 2018's Venom, the studio has created the so-called Sony Pictures Universe of Marvel Characters or SPUMC for simplicity's sake. Even though they are basing it on Spider-Man characters, the web-slinger himself has so far had little to do with that universe.
As Venom came to life on the big screen, Sony has been continuing to utilize other iconic Spider-Man villains, with Jared Leto's Morbius being next. Sony recently unveiled their plans for the in-development Kraven the Hunter solo film, which will star Aaron Taylor-Johnson as the titular character. There are other characters who have either been announced or been rumored to be getting their own SPUMC movie. While there is excitement for these individual projects, many wonder why Sony is investing in a cinematic universe for some of Spider-Man's biggest villains.
Despite characters like Venom, Morbius, and Kraven traditionally being antagonists to Spider-Man, they are the kind of villains who have also taken heroic paths. Sony's Spider-Man universe may feature characters, who are famous as the wall-crawler's enemies, but that is not the direction they are going with them. In the comics, Venom, Morbius, and Kraven have all played roles as morally grey crime fighters or anti-heroes. In Venom, Eddie Brock was the protagonist, while Carlton Drake and Riot served as the main villain in the story. Leto's Morbius will be portrayed as an anti-hero too, as he goes up against his own main villain.
While little is known about Kraven the Hunter, Taylor-Johnson's character is also going in that direction, similar to Kraven's comic counterpart. Even though it can come off as a weird decision for Sony to invest in Spider-Man's other characters, it is not like they have made radical changes to them thus far. It would be one thing if there were a Carnage movie where Cletus Kasady was a hero instead of a villain, which wouldn't make sense. Cletus/Carnage is one of Marvel's darkest and most twisted beings, which would be difficult to make a movie about because no one is supposed to feel bad or root for him.
Not only would it be a strange decision, but it would likely not be something audience members would respond well to if someone like Carnage, Green Goblin, or other unredeemable villains got reimagined on a larger scale. So far, Sony has been smart about the Spider-Man villains they have picked for the SPUMC. Even if they have the status as a Spider-Man baddie, there are established histories where they have taken on anti-hero roles. It would not be shocking if someone like Felicia Hardy, a.k.a. Black Cat, is one of the following Spider-Man villains to get their own movie in the SPUMC.
The bigger mystery, however, is what Sony's endgame for their Spider-Man-related universe. Are all these films building up to the Sinister Six film that Sony has wanted to do for over a decade? At the very least, their inter-connected universe is meant to have some tie to the MCU through Spider-Man: No Way Home, specifically. But it remains to be seen what that connection will look like and how it changes the status quo. Outside of that, it will be interesting to see where Sony's universe of Spider-Man villains will go, after Morbius, Venom 2, and Kraven the Hunter.
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