Sony Pictures are planning a "fresh reboot" of the wider Spider-Man universe.
The Spider-Man movies have been a big hit for the studio but spin-offs Madame Web, Kraven the Hunter and Morbius - which starred Dakota Johnson, Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Jared Leto in the title roles respectively - haven't fared as well with critics or moviegoers but chairman and CEO Tom Rothman insisted the extended universe isn't being shelved.
Appearing on The Town podcast, host Matt Belloni asked the Sony Pictures executive: “Where are we in the Spider-Man franchise? Not the animated Spider-Verse. Is the larger Spider-Verse dead?”
He replied: “No."
Asked if he would "go back to those at some point", he confirmed yes, and answered the same when asked if it will be a "fresh reboot".
And pressed on if that would mean "new people" leading the cast, Tom said: "Yes, yes."
But it seems Sony Pictures won't be rushing into multiple spin-off films.
He noted: "Scarcity has value … you got to make the audience miss you.”
The executive also confirmed for the first time a 2021 report that China banned Spider-Man: No Way Home because the final scenes took place at the Statue of Liberty.
Nothing the film made $1.9 billion at the global box office, he said: "It p***** me off to have to say this.
“You say, ‘$1.9 billion, what’s wrong with [saying] two?’ Well, it didn’t get into China, but in my mind [the film’s box office is] over 2 [billion] because I know what we would have done in China.
“[The China Film Administration] just said, ‘Small thing, no problem, just cut out the Statue of Liberty’ — which is where the climax is. That was their request.”
Noting he said no, he added: “Also, I really didn’t look forward to sitting in front of Congress telling them why I cut the Statue of Liberty out at the request of the Chinese Communist Party."
The film before it, Spider-Man: Far From Home, made $200 million in China.
Meanwhile, while 2018's Venom was a success, taking $856 million globally, its successors didn't fare as well, with 2022's Morbius taking $162 million around the world, 2024's Madame Web taking $100 million globally, and Kraven the Hunter, also 2024, took just $60 million against a production budget of over $100 million.
