The hype for Marvel and Sony's upcoming film, "Spider-Man: Homecoming," is currently at its climax seeing as that the film will be premiered in just a few days. However, a lot of conversation is also now circulating regarding the film's upcoming spin-off movies, namely the brand new "Venom" movie and the "Silver & Black" movie that will feature the characters Black Cat and Silver Sable. It was initially thought that the upcoming spin-offs would be closely tied together with the new "Spider-Man" movie, but that apparently is not the case.
Not part of the same universe
Shortly after the two spin-off movies were announced, a lot of fans had questioned how exactly the films would tie in together with the larger Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). Unfortunately, those questions are now compounded by the recent announcement that "Venom" and "Silver & Black" will be "standalone movies" and will not be part of the MCU.
Stand-alone spin-offs
Unlike Tom Holland's "Spider-Man," which prominently features Robert Downey Jr.'s Iron Man as his mentor, the upcoming new spin-offs will apparently be in no way connected to the larger MCU. This fact alone apparently produces additional questions regarding how exactly the movies will work without the appearance of some of its more iconic characters.
The film's producer, Amy Pascal, explained in a recent interview that the movies would be very similar to how 20th Century Fox's "X-Men" films were independent of the MCU created by Disney and how they were still considered as Marvel movies themselves.
How it could work
While no details have yet been revealed for the upcoming "Silver & Black" spin-off, Sony has already confirmed that they have signed on Tom Hardy to play as Venom in the character's new standalone movie.
Spider-Man is of course very integral to the back story of Venom, a.k.a. Eddie Brock, and how he came to be the powerful Venom Symbiote. It would be interesting to see a Venom movie without Spider-Man in it.
The upcoming film's creators will likely have to do some creative misdirection to allow Hardy's character to wreak havoc in New York without him running into Spider-Man or the rest of the Avengers.
Then again, there are some fans who believe that Venom is a rich enough character to stand on his own without the help of the other more popular Marvel superheroes. Sony could very well create a gritty self-contained story that will essentially be a darker take on Venom's creation, which might actually work in their favor.
