Here’s Why Marvel Has To “Stay Away” From Miles Morales

After five bumpy years, Marvel Studios finally has a good grasp on its future again. Just don’t expect those plans to involve Miles Morales, a next-gen, fan-favorite Spider-Man. Thanks to Sony’s animated Spider-Verse movies, Miles is now just as beloved as the Spidey who started it all, Peter Parker, and though they’re separated by a multiverse, audiences would love to see the two heroes team up. There’s precedent for it in comics and video games, but Miles can’t join Peter in the MCU just yet.

Marvel and Sony have ironed out a rapport when it comes to Spider-Man’s rights: Sony’s currently leasing out Peter Parker, now a fixture in Marvel’s Cinematic Universe, while retaining exclusive rights to other characters in his world. As a result, Miles has become a definitive Spider-Man for their cinematic universe, at least on the animated front. (Sony’s live-action Spider-Verse is likely kaput after Kraven the Hunter and Venom: The Last Dance, but that’s another story.) With two films of a trilogy in the bag, Sony is now hard at work on a third — and potentially final — adventure for this version of Miles. But Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse has proven unwieldy, delayed time and again thanks to one issue or another.

It’s for this reason that Marvel’s had to hold off on a live-action version of Miles. “We’ve been told to stay away,” Feige recently told press.

Feige’s update is a little disappointing, but it’s not as though Miles will never show up in the MCU. Marvel has been teasing the character for years, from its introduction of the Prowler, Miles’ uncle, in Homecoming to a faint Easter egg in No Way Home. Marvel might even lay further groundwork in its next team-up with Sony, Spider-Man: Brand New Day. With The Bear’s Liza Colón-Zayas joining the film, fans have guessed she might be playing Rio Morales, Miles’ mother. It’s a long shot, but you never know.

Sony is also game to eventually bring Miles into live-action. Producer Amy Pascal teased that the character could team up with Peter Parker “someday,” more specifically after Sony gets two other Marvel films out into the world. The first is likely Brand New Day, while the second might be Beyond the Spider-Verse. But with the latter not due until 2027, it could be a while before Marvel gets the go-ahead for Miles.

Still, a “not yet” is better than an outright “no.” Sony will eventually give Marvel the green light, and sooner or later, Miles will join the MCU. Now, it’s just a matter of timing.