Sony's animated Spider-Verse movies have redefined superhero storytelling on the big screen. The first two films won many hearts with their bold animation style and emotional depth, so fans are were understandably startled today by headlines saying that Sony's cancelling Spider-Man.
Can that be true when the movies did so well? Fear not, Spidey fans. One story might be concluding, but it's not the end of the Spider-Verse.
Sony cancels Spider-Man?
The Spider-Verse phenomenon began back in 2018 with Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. The animated movie immediately felt different. Its groundbreaking art style blended 3D animation with traditional 2D hand-drawn techniques to replicate the feel of flipping through a physical comic book.
Article continues belowAs for the storytelling, the introduction of Miles Morales felt more personal but also epic in scope. The sequel, 2023's Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (2023) took this further.
Now producers Phil Lord and Chris Miller have confirmed on the Happy Sad Confused podcast that the upcoming third film, Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse will be the last when it releases on 18 June 2027.
What next for Spider-Man?
There's an important clarification to make here. Yes, Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse will end the Miles Morales trilogy. That might seem surprising despite the franchise's massive success, but it doesn't mean the end of the Spider-Verse itself.
Sony is only wrapping up this one specific Spider-Verse thread. That should provide a definitive, and hopefully satisfying, story arc for Miles Morales. It also frees Sony to experiment with new characters and more flexible directions for the broader franchise. There are already spin-offs focused on Spider-Gwen and Spider-Punk in development,
The Spider-Verse is so potentially vast that we could see many more such projects, which could help keep the multiverse feeling fresh, ensuring a longer life.
Of course, there are risks too. Attempts to expand the live-action Sony Spider-Man Universe saw hits like the Venom movies but also gave us Kraven the Hunter and Madame Web (Sony's continuing its partnership with Marvel, with Tom Holland set to swing into cinemas again in Spider-Man: Brand New Day from 31 July, 2026, and a Spider-Noir series starring Nicolas Cage as Ben Reilly is coming to Amazon Prime Video from 27 May).
Despite the occasional miss, fans reactions show that they still want both animated and live-action Spider-Man stories. But what could the next installments look like? Let me know in the comments what you'd like to see.
For more of the week's animation news, see DreamWorks' Forgotten Island trailer.
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