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Olivia Wilde‘s debut film, Booksmart, was a massive critical success, and it instantly made her one of the most sought after young directors in Hollywood. Marvel fans thought that she’d be a perfect director for one of Marvel’s many upcoming films, and sure enough, she actually got the gig, sort of.

Recently, it was announced that she had landed the role of directing an upcoming Spider-Woman movie. However, that movie isn’t going to be a purely MCU movie, but rather, it’s going to be backed by Sony and its cinematic universe of Marvel characters.

That said, Marvel fans think that there’s actually a big chance that the Spider-Woman movie she’s directing could actually tie heavily into the MCU. 

Olivia Wilde
Olivia Wilde | Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic

The complicated relationship between Marvel and Sony

Not that long ago, for MCU fans, one of the worst things that could possibly happen, happened. Sony, who owns the movie rights to Spider-Man and many other characters in the Spider-Man comics, seemingly got into a fight with Marvel and their relationship soured. 

Fortunately though, the two companies reconciled, and as far as anyone knows, Spider-Man’s place in both cinematic universes hasn’t changed. That said, what has seemingly changed is the fact that the MCU is getting more connected into Sony’s cinematic universe, which it calls the SPUMC, or the Sony Pictures Universe of Marvel Characters. 

This change was showcased in the trailer for Morbius, and upcoming film in the SPUMC. At the end of the trailer, Michael Keaton seemingly reprises his role from the first Marvel Spider-Man movie as Vulture. This shows that the MCU and the SPUMC are potentially connected, but fans aren’t really sure right now.

How Spider-Woman fits into all this

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Spider-Woman in the MCU? Kevin Feige Might Want This More Than the Fans

Sony seemingly holds the movie rights to Spider-Woman, but unlike Morbius or Venom, Spider-Woman, as a character, is extremely connected to what’s happening in the MCU.

Like Marvel fans on Reddit wrote, a good Spider-Woman story has to be tied into S.H.I.E.L.D. and Hydra, and right now, both of those organizations are owned by Marvel. As a result, Sony may have to work with Marvel in order to use those S.H.I.E.L.D. and Hydra in the movie. 

And then there’s the big clue that fans talked about. During an interview, Wilde made a joke about trying to avoid “Kevin Feige’s pellet gun” when she was talking about her role in the Spider-Woman movie. While this was just a simple joke, Marvel fans thought that she wouldn’t joke about Feige like that unless she’s been working with him on the project.

Feige is the president of Marvel Studios, and he’s helped turn the MCU into what it is today. Marvel fans think that if Wilde has actually been working with Feige on Spider-Woman, then that could mean that Spider-Woman could have connections with both the MCU and the SPUMC. 

Will Spider-Woman be in the MCU?

While nothing is confirmed just yet, this major clue could also mean that Spider-Woman, like Spider-Man, can also join the MCU properly. This is what Marvel fans want, since Sony’s track record with making its own Spider-Man movies hasn’t been great. 

The Amazing Spider-Man trilogy flopped so hard that it never actually got finished as it ended after just two movies. Venom did well at the box office, but it was not well-received by critics as many thought that it was a bad movie. 

As a result, Marvel fans think that Sony has learned its lesson, and it’ll work closely with Marvel on its future movies. The two MCU Spider-Man movies have both done really well, and if Spider-Woman connects into the MCU, then it can do really well, too.

But of course, nothing is confirmed yet, and as far as fans know, right now, Spider-Woman is not in the MCU.