Sony’s Spider-Man Universe is not moving forward, which allows the Marvel Cinematic Universe to recast all of its major villains as Marvel Studios and Sony’s partnership for new Spider-Man movies continues. Spider-Man: Brand New Day is on track to become the biggest Spider-Man movie ever, with the latest MCU movie projected to pass $2 billion worldwide, which means many more solo movies.
As long as Tom Holland wants to keep playing Spider-Man, Sony and Marvel will have him. This means that at one point, be it in Spider-Man 5, a crossover Marvel movie, or other possible Spider-Man movies led by Holland, the MCU will have to start bringing in the main characters from the SSU, as the franchise used some major Spider-Man villains and supporting players.
Sony’s Spider-Man Universe is officially dead, as confirmed by Sony Pictures head Tom Rothman, who told Variety that there were no new movies in the SSU in “active development.” The decision makes sense, as most movies in the SSU turned out to be box office bombs or received negative reviews, if not both. The franchise never had success aside from Tom Hardy’s Venom movies.
Due to that, even if fans want to see Hardy’s Venom interact with Holland’s Spider-Man in future MCU movies, it would probably be for the best if all SSU characters who Marvel Studios decided to use were recast. A clean slate is necessary after the failure of the SSU, much like James Gunn’s DC Universe is doing after the old DCEU, and these are the actors who could play the SSU’s biggest villains in the MCU:
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Nikolaj Coster-Waldau – Kraven The Hunter
First up is Kraven the Hunter, who was played by MCU star Aaron Taylor-Johson — he gave life to Quicksilver at Marvel Studios — in the Spider-Man villain’s solo movie. Given how Spider-Man: Brand New Day pushes Holland’s Marvel franchise into a more mature, darker tone, Kraven would fit in like a glove. Kraven was even considered for Spider-Man: No Way Home.
To fit the direction of the MCU’s Spider-Man franchise, 56-year-old Nikolaj Coster-Waldau would be the perfect older, grizzled version of the villain for an adaptation of the iconic Kraven’s Last Hunt storyline from Marvel Comics. Coster-Waldau’s Game of Thrones role as Jaime Lannister has shown his physicality for the role and the dramatic skills to make Kraven pop.
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James McAvoy – Chameleon
Chameleon was quite young in Kraven the Hunter, played by Fred Hechinger, who is 26. That said, I could envision an older actor that could bring the kind of magnetic energy that is needed to pass as this character who can embody any personality and face he so chooses, while passing as the slightly younger brother of Coster-Waldau’s Kraven.
At 47, former Charles Xavier actor James McAvoy would be perfect. Given how the MCU’s X-Men movie should go for a younger star as Professor X, the Chameleon would be a bold MCU role for McAvoy. In Split, the actor showed he has the range to make the Spider-Man villain one of the most exciting and scariest foes in the franchise, making any new personality he takes on believable.
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Gillian Anderson – Madame Web
Madame Web is not really a villain, but she is included on the list as one of the core characters in the SSU. Dakota Johnson’s version of Cassandra Webb was much younger than how the character is portrayed in the comics and animation. It was an origin story for Madame Web after all, and the MCU could go for a version of her with full powers.
Gillian Anderson brings a gravitas to any role she inhabits and has the kind of genre franchise experience to excel as a voice of wisdom in the MCU. The actress could be the perfect middle of the road between Johnson’s Madame Web and the comics’ Cassandra Webb. She would be the ideal voice of authority and mystery for the Spider-Man franchise.
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Ewan Mitchell – Carnage
I still can’t believe that Sony did not make Venom: Let There Be Carnage an R-rated movie. While there are ways Carnage could have worked with a PG-13 rating, the SSU surely did not know how to do so. Thankfully, after watching Jon Bernthal’s Punisher in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, it is clear that the MCU can excel with the villain.
To play the deranged serial killer known as Cletus Kasady and his symbiote-powered Carnage persona, there is no one better than House of the Dragon‘s Ewan Mitchell. The actor plays a villain the fans love to hate, with Aemond Targaryen being similarly chaotic, impulsive, and loving to kill, just like Kasady.
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Penn Badgley – Morbius
Talking about actors who have experience playing villains, You‘s Penn Badgley has long been fancast to join the MCU. While he did not get the Reed Richards role in The Fantastic Four: First Steps, like fans were campaigning for, the actor would be perfectly suited to turn the public opinion on Morbius around after Jared Leto’s ill-received movie.
Morbius is a complex Spider-Man villain, as the character can also be on the side of the angels, being more tragic than a full-on menace. In Netflix’s You, Badgley gained worldwide fame for playing the serial killer Joe Goldberg as if he was a tragic antihero. The actor would easily bring all the nuances Morbius contains to life, making him charismatic, yet frightening, at the flick of a switch.
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Jason Isaacs – Knull
Andy Serkis debuted as Knull in Venom: The Last Dance. With the SSU now dead, the character’s teased major role in a future movie has been axed. This opens the door for Knull to come to the MCU as the perfect villain for a new multiversal crossover Spider-Man movie with Tom Holland, Tobey Maguire, and Andrew Garfield’s versions of Spider-Man.
Jason Isaacs, who many have asked to play the MCU’s Magneto for years, has the necessary deep voice and gravitas to make Knull the ultimate multiversal threat for the Spider-Men. The actor has played his fair share of villains, including voicing Mephisto in the Marvel’s Midnight Suns video game. Isaacs would make Knull positively frightening and a threat worthy of a new multiverse Spider-Man movie.
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Olivier Richters – Rhino
Olivier Richters was already in the MCU as Ursa in Black Widow, though that was a minor role that stands as more of an Easter egg than anything else. With the actor’s physically imposing nature, Richters is 7’2″, he would be perfect as Rhino, a character that was played as a joke in The Amazing Spider-Man 2 and then was buried in the box office bomb that was Kraven the Hunter.
Richters could play a comics-accurate Rhino, who looks more like a man fused with a Rhino, than turning into a full-on beast or wearing a mech suit. This would be perfect for the more grounded direction the MCU Spider-Man franchise seems to be headed in after Spider-Man: Brand New Day. Richters would also be able to sell the physical comedy between Spider-Man and Rhino perfectly.
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Alan Ritchson – Venom
Finally, Richters’ co-star in Prime Video’s Reacher season 3, Alan Ritchson, would be the ultimate choice to replace Hardy as Venom in the MCU. The actor has the skills to deliver any version of Venom that Marvel Studios chooses to go for. If the studio wants a more serious, action-focused Eddie Brock, then look no further than Reacher, which Ritchson turned into one of the most popular shows worldwide.
If Marvel and Sony opt to keep the funny persona Hardy crafted for Eddie in his Venom movie trilogy, then Ritchson’s impeccable comedic timing in projects like Blue Mountain State, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, and even DC’s Titans, show he is the man for the role. Additionally, Ritchson just looks the spitting image of the comics’ Eddie Brock. All of these options would help breathe new life into the SSU‘s biggest villains as they join the MCU to meet Holland’s Spider-Man.
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- Movie(s)
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Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man 2, Thor, Captain America: The First Avenger, The Avengers, Iron Man 3, Thor: The Dark World, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Guardians of the Galaxy, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Ant-Man, Captain America: Civil War, Doctor Strange, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Spider-Man: Homecoming, Thor: Ragnarok, Black Panther, Avengers: Infinity War, Ant-Man and the Wasp, Captain Marvel, Avengers: Endgame, Spider-Man: Far from Home, Black Widow, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Eternals, Spider-Man: No Way Home, Doctor Strange In the Multiverse of Madness, Thor: Love and Thunder, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, The Marvels, Deadpool & Wolverine, Captain America: Brave New World, Thunderbolts*, The Fantastic Four: First Steps, Spider-Man: Brand New Day, Avengers: Doomsday, Werewolf by Night, The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special, The Punisher: One Last Kill
- TV Show(s)
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Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Agent Carter, Inhumans, WandaVision, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Loki, What If…?, Hawkeye, Moon Knight, Ms. Marvel, She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, Secret Invasion, Agatha All Along, Ironheart, Daredevil: Born Again, Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, Wonder Man, Echo, Marvel Zombies, Eyes of Wakanda
- First Film
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Iron Man
- First TV Show
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Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
- Cast
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Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Samuel L. Jackson, Jeremy Renner, Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Edward Norton, Paul Rudd, Tom Holland, Tom Hiddleston, Anthony Mackie, Cobie Smulders, Brie Larson, Chadwick Boseman, Sebastian Stan, Chris Pratt, Dave Bautista, Zoe Saldana, Bradley Cooper, Vin Diesel, Pom Klementieff, Josh Brolin, Karen Gillan, Clark Gregg, Paul Bettany, Don Cheadle, Benedict Cumberbatch, Evangeline Lilly, Simu Liu, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Angelina Jolie, Kit Harington, Salma Hayek, Richard Madden, Barry Keoghan, Gemma Chan, Ma Dong-seok, Brian Tyree Henry, Kumail Nanjiani, Lauren Ridloff, Lia McHugh, Jonathan Majors
- Director
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Jon Favreau, Joss Whedon, Shane Black, Anthony Russo, Joe Russo, James Gunn, Peyton Reed, Taika Waititi, Ryan Coogler
The Marvel Cinematic Universe is a long-running multimedia franchise drawn from the heroes, villains, and narratives of Marvel Comics. The MCU formally began with 2008’s Iron Man, with other successes forming the basis for the contemporary path from comic page to screen, including over 30 films and 20 TV shows.
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- Created by
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David Michelinie, Todd McFarlane, Roy Thomas, Gil Kane
- First Film
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Venom
- Latest Film
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Madame Web
- Upcoming Films
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Venom: The Last Dance, Kraven the Hunter, The Sinister Six
- Upcoming TV Shows
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Spider-Noir (2025), Silk: Spider Society
- Cast
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Jared Leto, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Dakota Johnson, Sydney Sweeney, Michelle Williams, Riz Ahmed, Woody Harrelson, Matt Smith, Reid Scott
Sony’s Spider-Man Universe (SSU) is a media franchise and shared universe centered around various characters associated with Spider-Man, but without including Spider-Man himself as a central figure. The SSU focuses on antiheroes and villains like Venom and Morbius and has expanded to include additional characters like Madame Web and Kraven the Hunter. The franchise exists independently of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) but has made some minor crossovers.