Warning: SPOILERS for Spider-Man: No Way Home!
Marvel Studios and Sony's latest cinematic collaboration, Spider-Man: No Way Home, saw the return of Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield's iterations of Spider-Man to the big screen, and Andrew's Spider-Man could be exactly what Sony's villain movies need. No Way Home was a celebration of Spider-Man's history on the silver screen, as it brought in characters from across 20 years of films through its multiverse-infused plot. Andrew Garfield's portrayal of the Spider-Man stole the show, as it showed how enthused he was to be able to play the role again, which led audiences to demand more of The Amazing Spider-Man.
Even though Sony has been sharing the character of Spider-Man with Marvel Studios since 2015, that didn't stop them from attempting to create their own cinematic universe. Sony's Morbius, starring Jared Leto, is up next for Sony's villain franchise, set to release in January 2022. While the Venom films have been a success and Leto's Morbius does look promising, there simply can't be a future for this shared universe when it's just an assortment of villains.
By simply stating that the new villains' universe takes place in the same continuity as Garfield's Spider-Man in that universe would not only fulfill the audiences' demands but also make the films in Sony's villain franchise finally matter.
Sony's villain-led films simply aren't as interesting without a Spider-Man to counter, like a hero without a villain. Garfield ing the villains' universe could allow Sony to portray a darker version of his character, especially after Andrew Peter's comments during No Way Home that indicated his breaking of Spider-Man's rule of not killing anyone. Sony could continue to let their villains take center stage, eventually leading up to a Sinister Six project where they could potentially win by killing Spider-Man, a move that would set this universe apart from other Spider-Man adaptations.
This could also be Garfield's chance to take center stage and play Spider-Man again, a role he is clearly very ionate about. The Amazing Spider-Man films were ruined by issues in the screenplay and the creative team not understanding the character, but Garfield still managed to make the best out of it and deliver a great performance as Spider-Man. Bringing back Andrew could be the perfect way to meet viewers' demands of seeing more of his version of Spider-Man while at the same time improving Sony's villain films.
Spider-Man: No Way Home's multiverse fiasco proved that audiences around the world still care about past iterations of the titular character and would love to see them appear in more projects in the future. Garfield returning in the villain universe, whether through a potential Amazing Spider-Man 3 or a smaller role in one of Sony's villain-led films, would kill two birds with one stone. It would give audiences more of Garfield's Spider-Man while at the same time turning Sony's cinematic universe into a franchise people want to invest in.
