Spider-Man is one of the most recognizable and popular superheroes on the planet, yet the character is at a weird place when it comes to adaptations for the big and small screen. Though Marvel Studios and Sony Pictures have made a rather good “Spider-Man” trilogy starring Tom Holland, Sony is also responsible for the horrendous and baffling experiment of trying to pull off a Spider-Man universe without ever really mentioning Spider-Man (though never forget “Madame Web” did feature a newborn Peter Parker).
While we wait for more news of “Spider-Man 4” and what villains may or may not appear in it, we can speculate on what other movies and shows Holland’s Spider-Man can appear in. Indeed, arguably the biggest strength of the Marvel Cinematic Universe is its connectivity and how characters can potentially have guest appearances or cameos in other projects, like Robert Downey Jr. being a part of “Spider-Man: Homecoming.” With how big a role TV plays in Marvel Studios’ plans, the potential for TV shows related to Spider-Man are endless, both in terms of shows directly involving him, or even just appearances in shows like “Daredevil: Born Again” or “Ms. Marvel.”
Or at least, that’s how it would be if it wasn’t for dumb studio politics. You see, when Marvel Studio’s Head of Streaming, Television, and Animation, Brad Winderbaum, talked to the Phase Hero podcast about the possibility of Tom Holland appearing in Marvel TV shows like “Daredevil: Born Again,” he had a simple yet disappointing answer. “[Sony has] the long-form television rights,” Winderbaum said. “We can do 30-minute animation.” Cue the sad trombone.
A different Spider-Man is coming to TV
Even if Tom Holland’s Peter Parker can’t appear in live-action Disney+ TV shows, doesn’t mean his version of Spider-Man can’t appear on any Disney+ show. Peter Parker (as seen in the Marvel Cinematic Universe) appears in an episode of the “Marvel’s What If…?” animated series, even if he wasn’t voiced by Holland.
Still, there’s one Spider-Man live-action TV show fans can look forward to: “Spider-Noir,” the upcoming show starring Nicolas Cage that’s a spin-off of “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” and sees the black-and-white, trenchcoat-wearing, Nazi-punching Spider-Man make the jump to live-action in a 1930s-set show. That series is set to debut on Prime Video, while on the Disney+ side of things, there actually is a Spider-Man TV show — a fully animated one. “Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man” just finished its first season and offered a fantastic new take on the character and his rogues’ gallery.
Does Spider-Man need to appear on live-action TV shows? Probably not, though it sure would be cool to see him pop up more than once every few years. Still, as long as Sony doesn’t try to make another interconnected Spider-Man universe that somehow turns every Spider-Man villain into an antihero, we should be fine.