A 'Venom' sequel likely already has a release date, as Sony's Spider-Man universe rises again

Venom Tom hardy

Sony announced two new release dates for Marvel movies in 2020, and one is likely a "Venom" sequel.
"Venom" exceeded expectations and has made nearly $780 million worldwide.
Other Spider-Man projects Sony has in development include "Morbius," "Black Cat," and "Kraven the Hunter."

Sony isn't wasting any time capitalizing on the success of "Venom."

The studio announced two release dates for yet-to-be-titled Marvel movies on Wednesday: July 10, 2020, and October 2, 2020. The latter is described as an "untitled Sony/Marvel sequel." All signs point to that being a second "Venom" installment, as the movie broke the October box-office record for an opening weekend with $80 million. It has grossed nearly $780 million worldwide.

Another possibility would be a sequel to the upcoming animated movie, "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse." It's gotten positive buzz, including from Business Insider's Jason Guerrasio, who called it the "best animated movie of the year" in his holiday movie preview. But even if Sony is confident in the movie, it has not yet been released.

Meanwhile, "Venom" has already shattered expectations at the box office and set the foundation for a sequel in its after-credits scene. It seems inevitable.

Sony's unique deal with Marvel Studios, which it struck in 2015, allows the latter to use Spider-Man in its Marvel Cinematic Universe, while Sony retains distribution rights and creative control. Sony owns the film rights to hundreds of Spider-Man characters and can continue making its own movies using those characters (and Spider-Man) under the deal.

"Venom" was Sony's first Spider-Man spinoff since the commercial and critical failure of 2014's "The Amazing Spider-Man 2." While reviews tore apart "Venom" (it has a 29% Rotten Tomatoes critic score), its success with audiences revitalized Sony's Spider-Man universe, according to box-office experts.

"If they consistently make films audiences want to see, Disney will have to buy Sony to get 'Spider-Man' back," Exhibitor Relations senior box-office analyst Jeff Bock told Business Insider earlier this month.

That's good news for Sony because it already had several other Spider-Man spin-off movies in development before "Venom" was a hit. The July 10, 2020, release date is likely "Morbius," starring Jared Leto as the vampire Spider-Man villain.

Other possibilities include "Black Cat," based on a frequent Spider-Man love interest, or "Kraven the Hunter," based on another longtime foe of the wall-crawling superhero. But since "Morbius" has already cast its lead actor, that's probably the best bet.

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