Sony Is Reportedly Giving Its ‘Spider-Man’ TV Universe Another Shot With Four New Projects

Sony and Amazon are not giving up on their plans to expand the Spider-Man universe on television. Even after a rough run of projects and the recent cancellation of Spider-Noir, the two companies are still looking for a way to make the franchise work on the small screen. This time, though, they appear to be taking a more careful approach before putting another expensive series into production.

According to an exclusive report from The Ankler, Sony and Amazon are currently considering four different scripts connected to the Spider-Man universe. The companies are not expected to make all four shows. Instead, the plan could be to choose just one or two projects from the group, giving the studio and Prime Video more time to decide which ideas are worth the investment. The report does not reveal the characters or stories at the center of the scripts, so there is still plenty of mystery around what could come next.

What is known is that Sony has brought together a pretty strong group of writers for the new projects. Kelvin Yu, who created American Born Chinese, is working on one script. Alison Tatlock, who has written for Better Call Saul and Pluribus, is attached to another. For All Mankind creators Ben Nedivi and Matt Wolpert are also developing a project, while Megan McDonnell, known for her work on WandaVision, is part of the group as well. The mix of writers suggests Sony is exploring different styles instead of trying to make every show feel the same.

The decision to slow down and choose more carefully comes after several problems with Sony’s attempts to build a larger Spider-Man universe. The studio had hoped to turn characters connected to Spider-Man into major movie and television franchises. Venom was the biggest success from that plan, but movies such as Morbius, Madame Web, and Kraven the Hunter struggled to connect with audiences. After Kraven underperformed, Sony paused its plans for more live-action movies centered on Spider-Man-related characters.

The television side has had its own problems. Sony and Amazon originally planned several shows as part of their partnership, but not all of them made it to the screen. Silk: Spider Society, which was supposed to focus on Cindy Moon and had Angela Kang attached as showrunner, was eventually canceled before production moved forward. That left Spider-Noir as the first series from the partnership to actually reach viewers.

Spider-Noir seemed like it could finally be the project that changed the conversation. The Nicolas Cage-led series received strong reviews and even picked up several Emmy wins. It also started well on Prime Video’s daily rankings and generated plenty of attention online. However, the audience did not stay at the same level for long. According to the details reported by The Ankler, the show quickly fell out of the platform’s top rankings, which appears to have made its large production cost harder to justify.

Prime Video ultimately decided not to continue Spider-Noir after one season. The cancellation was a reminder that positive reviews do not always guarantee a second season, especially when a streaming service has to balance production costs against the number of people actually watching. For Sony, it also created a difficult situation because Spider-Noir had received the kind of critical response the company had been hoping for from one of its Spider-Man projects.

Still, the cancellation does not appear to have ended Sony and Amazon’s plans. Instead, the companies seem to be using the experience to be more selective about what they make next. Having four scripts compete for a smaller number of openings could allow them to focus on the projects that have the strongest stories and the best chance of keeping viewers interested beyond the first few episodes.

That may be the biggest change in Sony’s strategy. Rather than quickly turning every Spider-Man-related character into a movie or show, the studio now appears to be looking for ideas that can stand on their own. The writers involved also give the new projects a chance to move in very different directions, from character-driven drama to bigger science-fiction stories and traditional superhero entertainment.

For now, fans will have to wait to find out which characters are behind the four scripts and which projects will actually move forward. The Ankler’s report makes it clear that Sony and Amazon are still interested in building a Spider-Man television universe, but the next stage could be much smaller and more focused. After several false starts, the companies now have a chance to prove that choosing the right project matters more than simply making more of them.