Things to Watch While Waiting for Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 July 25, 2023

We are a few months away from the release of my most anticipated Playstation 5 exclusive title, Marvel’s Spider-Man 2. Since its newest trailer from San Diego Comic Con 2023, anticipation for the game has started to reach a fever pitch. This is hard to process, as the game isn’t going to be released for several months. So…what to do? How do we kill time until this game comes out? Got any movies to watch?

We wanted to focus this newest part in our ongoing series on things to watch while waiting for a Spider-Man game on Hollywood’s movies and films. Let’s be honest, most of you will already have seen some of these films, the purpose of this list is to kill as much time between now and October 20th, 2023.

So, what are the rules for this list? We’re keeping it to live action, and that will leave out the Spider-Verse films for now. Since we fully expect that Venom will be the primary antagonist of the new game, we thought we’d share some of the films that featured that character. Now, without further ado, here’s our list of films you should watch while waiting for Marvel’s Spider-Man 2. These are in no particular order.

Spider-Man 3 – The final film of the original Spider-Man trilogy, this follow up to one of the greatest movies ever made was lauded as a disappointment upon its initial release, but in the years past has regained a bit of a following due to its subject matter. The problem with it, is its length. It just has too many characters, and because of that, too many subplots that stretch out the running time. The whole film’s premise would have been fine if it had just focused on Sandman and the Black Suit saga, but with the addition characters like the New Goblin and Venom, and the plot of Peter wanting to ask MJ to marry him (a plot that went nowhere), the film becomes a slog through most of its second act. I also wasn’t much of a fan of Venom’s final design, but Spidey’s Black Suit was absolute perfection.

Captain America: Civil War – We waited nearly ten years for Marvel to adapt one of its most popular crossovers from recent history, the Civil War. Two sides, one lead by Iron Man and the other by Captain America, disagree on a fundamental principle being presented to the Avengers by society at large. Should the Avengers be kept under control of a faceless/nameless multinational organization? Who is responsible for setting all this in motion in the first place? Why am I including it on this list if Venom isn’t in it? We included it because it’s a great film which includes the very first appearance of Tom Holland’s Spider-Man in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Don’t worry, we’re going to be talking more about that later.

Venom – Eddie Brock is a skilled reporter with a eye for news, and the ability to rub nearly everyone the wrong way. This movie launched shortly after the release of Marvel’s Spider-Man for the PlayStation 4, at a time when I was itching for ANY new Spider-Man content. I ended up catching this film on the IMAX some time during the game’s DLC release schedule. The film has been universally accepted as a harmless popcorn film, but it had a few things going for it. I LOVED Venom’s design in this movie, and Tom Hardy was a fantastic choice for the role of Eddie. The best part of the flick was the dialog between Eddie and Venom as they must learn to work together, and their relationship was expanded upon further in the sequel.

Venom: Let There Be Carnage – The sequel to Venom, focusing on one of his greatest adversaries, Cletus Cassidy (a.k.a.) Carnage. Most people recognize this film as a textbook study on toxic relationships, but I remember it for a different reason. The legendary Woody Harrelson was cast in the antagonistic role, and allowed him to play to one of his strengths, the role of a complete psychopath. This is also the first film that attempted to officially link Sony’s Spider-Man projects to the Marvel’s Cinematic Universe, a development that is followed up in the next recommendation.

Spider-Man: No Way Home – The third Spider-Man film in the official Marvel Cinematic Universe, this movie is literally the greatest love letter to fans of Spider-Man films. A break in the multiverse is made and the three actors who played Spider-Man since 2002 are forced to team up to help restore their villains (played by their original actors) to their proper universes. I’d rather not say more, because this was probably one of the best films of the MCU’s fourth phase, and it should be watched whether you’re a fan of the MCU or not. Oh, and Venom is in there too…just for a bit after the credits.

As of the time of writing, most of these films can be watched through Disney+. Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 is coming October 20th, 2023 exclusively to the PlayStation 5.