There's no question about it, folks, 2018 was a banner year for your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man. Let's break it all down, real quick. On September 7, 2018, Sony launched Marvel's Spider-Man exclusively on their Playstation 4 console. Within the first three days of the third-person action comic book experience hitting shelves, Marvel's Spider-Man sold 3.3 million copies, beating Sony's God of War sale record. In October, Sony's Venom starring Tom Hardy as Eddie Brock came web-swinging into theaters. After being shrugged off as a "doomed-to-fail" venture, VENOM decimated expectations with a worldwide total of $885.5 million in box office returns. For more as to how that could have happened, check out Paul Shirey's take on how both VENOM and DC's AQUAMAN beat negative reviews to become massive hits. Last, but certainly not least, we have Sony's Golden Globe-winning animated feature SPIDER-MAN: INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE. To date, Miles Morales' theatrical debut has webbed up $275.4 million at the worldwide box office, and continues to be hailed by many as not only the best animated film of 2018, but the best Spider-Man film overall.
Relax. I said "hailed by many," that doesn't have to include you. Also, yes, Sam Raimi's SPIDER-MAN 2 is a hell of a great film.
On Monday, while presenting at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Sony floated the idea of creating a series of animated shows featuring the characters introduced in SPIDER-MAN: INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE. According to The New Yorker, Sony is "aggressively mining the rights it holds to Marvel characters in the Spider-Man comics family." The article also states that both MORBIUS: THE LIVING VAMPIRE and BLACK CAT AND SILVER SABLE remain in-the-works, while an AVENGERS-like film featuring the Sinister Six is also on the table.
Should Sony decide to create a variety of TV spinoffs based on the Spider-people featured in SPIDER-MAN: INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE, it means that, before long, we could be going on episodic adventures with characters like Miles Morales, Spider-Ham, Peni Parker, Spider-Gwen aka Ghost-Spider (in the comics), Spider-Man Noir, and possibly, Dad bod Peter Parker. Presumably, these shows would take place in different parts of Marvel's Multiverse, giving the studio license to create alternate identities for existing characters throughout each locale. I can see it all now, Spider-people as far as the eye can see. The toy shelves will be lined with an army of Spiders, ready to vampire the wallets of every parent during the holiday season.
Would you be down for a series of shows spinning out of SPIDER-MAN: INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
SPIDER-MAN: INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE is playing in theaters across the globe right now.