Venom: The Last Dance is perfectly set up to finally deliver on a 4-year-old promise from Sony’s Spider-Man Universe. While SSU releases like Morbius and Madame Web have failed, with poor box office numbers and negative reception from critics and the audience, Hardy’s Venom movies still remain popular. However, the SSU’s only successful franchise so far will be coming to an end this October. As its name implies, Venom: The Last Dance will be the final Venom movie with Tom Hardy’s Eddie Brock, and the Sony Marvel franchise could be going out with a bang.
Despite its name, Sony’s Spider-Man Universe is famously Spider-Man-less. The closest the shared universe has come to that was when Madame Web‘s final moments included a peek at the future team of four Spider-Man-like heroines. However, given that the movie tanked, there is very little chance the characters will be able to live up to their potential in the SSU. Venom: The Last Dance‘s story is not confirmed to feature Spider-Man’s SSU debut; however, there are many elements related to the SSU movie that could mean the film will finally make good on the franchise’s biggest promise.
The SSU Has An Interesting Spider-Man Trend
The Hero’s Arrival Has Been Teased For Years
While no version of Spider-Man has properly appeared in the SSU so far, the universe has been teasing the character in multiple different ways since 2020. Morbius was the first to do so, with the film having a couple of connections to the hero. The first of them is a Spider-Man mural that appeared in the movie’s first trailer. Interestingly, the art was of Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man, though it had “Murderer” written over it, seemingly in a nod to Tom Holland’s Spider-Man being believed to have killed Mysterio. With little explanation, Michael Keaton’s Vulture from the MCU appeared in Morbius.
Venom: Let There Be Carnage ‘s post-credits scene was the only time Spider-Man was visually shown in the SSU, with Tom Holland’s Peter Parker appearing on a TV that Eddie and Venom are watching, though it was footage from the MCU’s Spider-Man: Far From Home .
Madame Web had a bunch of Spider-Man nods. Peter Parker was even in the movie in a way, as Emma Roberts played his mom, Mary Parker, who was pregnant. The MCU film teased the reveal of the baby’s name before ultimately keeping it the most obvious secret possible. Adam Scott also played Ben Parker in Madame Web, aka Uncle Ben, one of the most integral characters in Spider-Man lore. Kraven the Hunter‘s first trailer also had a shot of spiders slowly coming down around Aaron Taylor-Johnson’s Kraven, another nod to Spider-Man without him ever debuting.
Venom: The Last Dance Could Finally Introduce Spider-Man To The SSU
The Movie Could Connect To An MCU Scene
Venom: The Last Dance could finally be the movie to deliver on the SSU’s 4-year-old Spider-Man promise. The character already has a connection to the wall-crawler, with Tom Hardy’s Eddie Brock having been transported to the MCU thanks to Doctor Strange’s spell. Hardy appeared in Spider-Man: No Way Home‘s post-credits scene, with the character talking to a bartender and discovering information about the MCU’s history and its heroes. At the end of the scene, Eddie proclaims that maybe it is time he finds Spider-Man, and the SSU’s final Venom film could continue that idea.
Since Hardy’s Venom was ejected from the MCU, Venom: The Last Dance could follow the character as he returns to the SSU and decides to find the Peter Parker of his world. Eddie specifically said in his MCU cameo, “Maybe I should go to New York and speak to this Spider-Man.” Interestingly, while the Venom movies so far have been set in San Francisco, new Venom: The Last Dance set photos and video show Eddie Brock in New York City. That makes a strong case that the SSU is finally setting up a meeting between Venom and Spider-Man.
Could Tom Holland Play The SSU’s Spider-Man?
Another Actor Could Be Playing A New Peter Parker
If Eddie Brock is in New York to find Peter Parker, then there are a few options for which actor could play Spider-Man in the SSU movie. Fans have long requested that Andrew Garfield should be the SSU’s Spider-Man, which would make sense, as his universe did not have a Venom and is the closest in tone to the SSU. However, given that Hardy’s character has ties only to the MCU’s Spider-Man, Tom Holland could appear. Sony would not even have to connect the film to the MCU’s Spider-Man stories, using Holland as a variant of his established Spider-Man.
This way, the SSU could get its Spider-Man, and the MCU would not need to cross over with the franchise for a longer duration than the already released post-credits scenes. However, Venom: The Last Dance might feature the debut of a new actor as the Peter Parker of the SSU. There have been rumors for some time that a younger version of Peter would appear in the movie, and the first Venom: The Last Dance trailer featured a boy who looks like the character, possibly teasing a future for Spider-Man in the SSU if the tease pans out.
