Sony threw a potential web-bomb into the mix yesterday when it gave tentative release dates to two new, untitled Marvel movies. One is specifically described as being live action, while the other doesn’t have that distinction. Studios announcing release dates ahead of time is usually a positive indicator that things are progressing on schedule. That gives us the belief that projects will be completely promptly.
Sony only has control over one Marvel property (or universe, if you prefer) – Spider-Man.That begs the question, what can these untitled films be? Well, we know what they aren’t, so let’s start there and see what we can deduce from our own knowledge and put together a working timeline for what they might be. The initial “Untitled Sony/Marvel” film has been officially scheduled for November 8, 2024, and it will be showcased in IMAX format. Additionally, the second “Untitled Sony/Marvel Live Action” movie has been assigned a date of June 27, 2025, and it will also be presented in IMAX. Let’s now focus on clarifying what these films are not.
The upcoming Sony Marvel movies lineup includes Kraven the Hunter, set to be released on October 6, 2023. Following that, El Muerto is currently slated for January 12, 2024, and Madame Web for February 24, 2024. Lastly, there is Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse, which is currently scheduled for March 29, 2024. It is important to note that these newly announced dates may not correspond to the aforementioned films. There is always a possibility that one or more of these release dates might change, with El Muerto being a potential candidate for such adjustments.
Production has also been affected significantly in the progress of these films as a result of the ongoing Writers Guild of America strike – and the potential of a Screen Actors Guild strike following would plunge Hollywood into a fiery abyss of chaos that, while problematic, would also be a necessary evil in achieving equality across the board for all creative parties in Tinseltown.
So What Do We Know For Sure?
Venom 3 is in pre-production. We know various details about this already. Actors have been cast, we have a director, and star Juno Temple said earlier this week that she believed the film would be released in October 2024. Other reports added “around Halloween 2024” which would fit with the release strategy for the previous Venom films, both of which came out in October. November 7 is a week beyond that. Let’s pencil this one in as likely. As for that other date?
June 27, 2025 is prime in the middle of summer. That screams “major blockbuster”. Now, if we also look at the Marvel Cinematic Universe release calendar – there’s also a near two-month gap between that date and Marvel’s currently May 2, 2025 release, Fantastic Four, which will kick off Phase 6 of the MCU. It also wouldn’t be unusual to have two big releases in close proximity – in 2024, Deadpool 3 and Captain America: Brave New World are scheduled to release in May and July respectively.
Surely that can only mean one thing – the return of Tom Holland‘s Spider-Man. We know that Sony is keen to push on with a live-action Miles Morales movie – but producer Amy Pascal was quite insistent now wasn’t the time, and that she was focusing on Holland‘s character. Pascal also noted the film’s writing process has been suspended due to the strikes. Holland has also spoken recently of having had talks about the film, and the script. And despite his propensity for being a blabbermouth, it’s probably fair to say things are more advanced than is publicly being stated.
If we were putting our chips down? We’d be saying “Hello, Peter” once more.
via Collider