Leaked Screenshot Reportedly Shows Spot Crossing Into the Live-Action Venomverse Ahead of Across the Spider-Verse

The next big Marvel-adjacent release is Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, and while animated Sony projects do not usually get the same attention as Marvel Cinematic Universe films, that changes the moment they cross over with live action. That crossover has been light lately. Both Morbius and Venom tenuously tried to connect to the MCU, but when they finally did, it just was not that exciting. For months there have been rumors that Across the Spider-Verse would incorporate live-action scenes to tie this corner of the Spider-Verse to what Sony and the MCU are doing, and now there is a first screenshot that appears to back that up, reportedly showing the villain Spot crossing over into the live-action Venomverse.

Credit for the leak goes to cryptic HD on Twitter, who has a track record of posting rips of Marvel trailers and TV spots a day or two before they officially drop, sometimes even weeks ahead of schedule. The screen grab reportedly shows Spot in a scene with a character in the Venomverse, and Spot is seen holding an item connected to Venom that immediately became a punchline. The larger point, though, is that this appears to confirm Spot is at least crossing over into the live-action Venom universe in some form.

Why the Spot and Venomverse Connection Still Leaves Big Questions Unanswered

As exciting as that sounds, there is still no clear direction or details on whether that Venomverse is actually the same universe as the one seen in Morbius, which now also has Vulture, or whether it is the same universe that includes Kraven. Sony still needs to clean that up. Until that is sorted out, this will not be as exciting as seeing a version of Tom Holland's Spider-Man in an actual, clear connection to what Sony and the MCU are building together.

Rumors over the last year have suggested Sony's plans are actually leading toward a larger crossover event that would bring several of these characters together. Sony is also looking to expand what it is doing with Madame Web, and there are live-action television shows for both Silk and Spider-Man Noir headed to Amazon, not animated ones. With multiple live-action projects potentially converging, and now this primarily animated project apparently touching the same universe, this could be how Miles Morales eventually shows up in live action, and maybe even in the MCU. That is exciting, but the how still needs to be answered, and it cannot just be treated the way Morbius handled Vulture's appearance at the end of that film without any explanation.

Doctor Strange's Spell May Have Reopened the Door for Sony's Animated Universes

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness already showed what happens when that spell gets cast, and there was a reference to it in one of the first trailers for Across the Spider-Verse, when Spider-Man 2099 mentions Doctor Strange. One side note worth flagging is that it is not entirely clear whose Peter Parker he is even referencing since it could be Miguel's memory of it, or it could be tied to Miles, given how many versions of Spider-Man exist across the multiverse. Another side note is that casting that spell in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness seems to have had ramifications for Sony's animated universes too, effectively re-canonizing them as part of the same multiverse.

Even with that groundwork, this still is not an obvious connection or crossover, and it only becomes exciting once there is a clear sense of when and how it actually happens. There is a real wish to see Miles Morales in live action, and there would be no objection to a properly executed live-action crossover event either, since that would exist outside the MCU and would be additive rather than a replacement for what is already there.

Sony's Real Goal Has Always Been Leveraging Its Spider-Man Characters Against the MCU

Sony's aspiration has always been figuring out how to take what it has and leverage it against the success of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. That is why, no matter what live-action Sinister Six buildup Sony seems to be working toward in connection with a larger crossover film, the expectation is that Tom Holland's Peter Parker gets cashed in at some point, since he is effectively Sony's billion dollar live-action Spider-Man. Andrew Garfield's version was great, there is a shared wish to see Tobey Maguire back for Secret Wars, and there is a wish to see Miles involved the way he was tied to, as put, "the original secret War storyline or should I say the second secret or storyline from Jonathan Hickman in 2015."

All of that is wanted, but only when it makes sense and feels earned, not when it is forced and reads as an obvious cash grab. Up to this point, Sony has not laid the groundwork it needs to make that payoff land.

My Honest Reaction: Sony Has Not Yet Earned This Crossover

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is by far one of my favorite Marvel movies, and that view keeps coming up across fans who otherwise mostly watch MCU films but still single that one out, in part because being animated let it be its own thing. The clips already circulating from Across the Spider-Verse show animation and action that look amazing.

Even so, there is real hesitation about this live-action crossing. "I'm just gonna go out and say it, I'm not sure that I'm as excited about this as I should be, only because I don't think Sony's going to do the work they need to to make it exciting." As said: "it's exciting when we understand it it's exciting when it makes sense it's not exciting when it doesn't," which is exactly why Vulture's appearance in Morbius fell flat and why the Venom post credit scene at the end of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness fell flat too.

There is real doubt that Venom or Eddie Brock show up here, and real doubt that any live-action Peter Parker from any universe appears either. If any of these characters do cross over, the better outcome would be seeing them rendered in animated form rather than live action, since that may be the only way this does not fall flat. If Miles Morales does show up in a live-action setting, the natural reaction would be wanting to know where that is going and why it happened, and Sony likely will not explain it, since there probably is not room to do so within this film. The hope is that Sony does not damage what it already has with Into the Spider-Verse by pushing too hard into this crossover.

On the Tobey Maguire rumors specifically, those have been especially heavy, but that appears to trace back to an animated piece made by Corridor Crew that got clipped up and spread across social media as if it were real. Fan-made trailers like that have circulated for five years, and people are still mistaking them for genuine clips.

Where does the hype level actually sit for Across the Spider-Verse once this leak is factored in, and does a crossover only work when there is a clear explanation for how and why it happens?