Doomsday and Beyond the Spider-Verse: why the two multiverses will never meet

Six months separate the two releases, both posters promise a multiverse, and both put Spider-Man at the centre. So the question comes up naturally: do they join up? The short answer is no, and it has nothing to do with a writing decision. It comes down to who produces what, to incompatible multiverse mechanics, and to a rights split that audiences have no reason to know about but which explains everything.

Two dates, two studios

Avengers: Doomsday is due on 18 December 2026, and will be followed by a second instalment in December 2027. Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse is set for 18 June 2027, having been brought forward by a week from an earlier date. The two projects therefore cross paths in the calendar without ever crossing paths on screen.

The difference in nature runs deeper than the difference in format. The first is a live-action ensemble film, produced by Marvel Studios, bringing together characters from several series. The second is the third instalment of an animated trilogy produced by Sony, whose universe, characters and rules were built independently. The respective analyses can be found in the study of Spider-Man's role against Doctor Doom and in the rundown of the release date and the official information on the animated film.

One calendar detail is worth noting, because it feeds the confusion: these two releases bracket a period when the character will be everywhere, for six months straight. To an unsuspecting viewer, that abundance looks like a coordinated strategy. It isn't: these are two companies exploiting the same character in parallel. The Spider-Man posters from the two universes look alike, yet the films share no production link.

Why Spider-Man exists in two film universes

This is the crux of the matter, and it is simpler than people think. The film rights to the character are held by Sony, not by Marvel Studios. That situation goes back to a time when Marvel was selling off its characters to fund its business, long before the shared film universe we know today existed.

The consequences are direct. Sony can produce Spider-Man films on its own, which is what it does with the animated trilogy. Marvel Studios, on the other hand, cannot use the character without an agreement. The live-action appearances within the shared universe therefore rest on an understanding between the two companies, renegotiated over time — which explains the periods of uncertainty the press has documented at length.

The reverse is equally true and often forgotten: Marvel Studios cannot bring animated characters created by Sony into its own films either, without going through the same channel. The separation is not a creative choice, it is a legal architecture. The run-through of the character's different screen incarnations, across all productions, is available in the rundown of every actor who has played the role, and the page devoted to the films and their versions of the character clearly separates the two lineages.

COLLECTOR FIGURES

Spider-Man Tom Holland Figure

The live-action version is still the one the general public recognises most readily, and the one on screen in December. This piece captures its suit and its stance, in a display format that sits happily on a shelf alongside the animated versions.

€79.90

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Two multiverse mechanics that don't work the same way

Even if rights were not an obstacle, the two universes would be hard to join up, because they don't define the multiverse in the same way. It is a point few articles raise, and yet it is decisive for understanding why a crossover would be shaky.

On the live-action side, the multiverse works through parallel realities and incursions: complete worlds that exist at the same time and can collide. The character discovered how it works in the episode that brought the multiverse into this universe, and the overall mechanics are summed up in the explanation of the Marvel multiverse.

On the animated side, the logic is different: it rests on events that every version of the character has to live through, on an organisation tasked with preserving those trajectories, and on anomalies that threaten the whole. That framework is described in the article on the Spider-Society and in the one devoted to the invisible rules of the Spider-Verse. These are two distinct conceptual systems: making them coexist would mean sacrificing one of them. The Spider-Man figures and the Spider-Man T-shirts cheerfully mix the two aesthetics; the stories cannot.

What the separation has allowed both camps to do

It would be easy to present this separation as a handicap. The facts say otherwise: it is probably what allowed the animated trilogy to exist at all. Free of any obligation towards a shared continuity, it was able to invent its own graphic style, its own characters and its own rhythm, without having to set up somebody else's film.

The result speaks for itself. The characters born of that autonomy — from Miles Morales as the films established him, through to Miguel O'Hara or Peni Parker — have become major figures in the franchise in just a few years, without ever needing to cross paths with the live-action version.

The reverse is true too. The live-action ensemble films have been able to build their own architecture without having to work in an animated trilogy whose schedule is outside their control. Each moves at its own pace, which is more comfortable for everyone — including the viewer, who doesn't have to watch six films to understand one. The Spider-Man toys and the Spider-Man backpacks from the two universes sell very happily side by side, as it happens.

No Way Home: the exception that proves the rule

One counter-example always comes up in these discussions: the 2021 film did bring together several actors who had played the character, along with several villains from other series. Why was that possible? Because all those characters belonged to the same rights holder, and the film was a co-production.

In other words, that crossover never crossed the border people imagine. It brought together different productions from a single catalogue, not two separate catalogues. It is a decisive distinction, and it explains why that film is not a precedent for a meeting with the animated universe. Its real significance is analysed in the study of what it changed.

The same logic applies to the persistent rumour of three actors reuniting in the December film: it is conceivable precisely because it would stay within the same rights perimeter. Nothing has been confirmed to date, and the state of the evidence is reviewed in the article setting out what we actually know. What is certain is that no character from the animated trilogy is involved in that scenario.

PRINTS AND POSTERS

Spider-Man Across The Spider Verse Poster

The visual identity of the animated trilogy is the most recognisable in the whole franchise, and it looks like nothing else. This print takes up its saturated colour treatment, in a standard format that is easy to frame.

€22.90

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What each film has to achieve on its own side

The December film has a precise job: to set up an antagonist and a situation that the next instalment will resolve. It works as a first act, which means you shouldn't expect a conclusion from it. The theories about the web-slinger's place in the second instalment are set out in the analysis devoted to Secret Wars.

The animated film in June has the opposite job: to close a trilogy opened in 2018 and continued in the second instalment, which ended on an unresolved situation. It has to resolve, not set up. What audiences expect on that front is detailed in the article on what fans really want, and the question of the antagonist in the one asking who the villain will be.

Those two missions are, literally, opposites: open on one side, conclude on the other. A crossover would force one of them to give up its function. It is perhaps the strongest argument against the idea, and it takes no knowledge of contracts to follow. The first film in the animated trilogy, covered in the article devoted to it, had already set that autonomy down as a principle. The Spider-Man phone cases and the Spider-Man stickers from the two ranges, for their part, remain perfectly compatible.

Could a crossover happen one day?

Technically, nothing rules it out for good. Agreements get renegotiated, strategies change, and recent history shows that set-ups judged impossible do sometimes end up happening. But the possible has to be told apart from the probable, and as things stand nothing public points that way.

Three obstacles stack up. The first is contractual and is outside the writers' hands. The second is technical: mixing stylised animation and live action in a single story calls for radical aesthetic choices that few productions take on. The third is narrative, and it is the heaviest: the two universes each have a complete mythology of their own, and forcing them together would weaken both.

The sensible thing, then, is to enjoy them separately. December for an ensemble story and its antagonist, June for the conclusion of an animated trilogy. Both are worth the trip, neither depends on the other, and that is rather good news. To find your way between the versions, the page devoted to the multiverse and all the versions of the web-slinger works as a map, and the fancy dress and costumes from the universe let you pick your side for release day.

COLLECTOR FIGURES

Spider-Man Miguel O'Hara Figure

The most emblematic character of the animated side has never set foot in the other universe, and that is exactly what makes him singular. This piece captures his tall, slender silhouette and his blue and red suit in a striking display format.

€89.90

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How to tell which universe you're talking about

One simple marker settles most of the confusion: the format. If it's animated with a stylised graphic treatment and comic-book textures, it's the Sony trilogy. If it's live action with well-known actors and a shared universe populated by other heroes, it's the other lineage. For now there is no in-between case.

A second marker, just as reliable: the presence of other heroes. A film where Spider-Man crosses paths with whole teams necessarily belongs to the live-action side. A film where he only meets other versions of himself belongs to the animated side. The rule suffers few exceptions, and it lets you sort any trailer straight away.

A third marker, handy for articles online: the company names in the credits. A film carried by Marvel Studios and a film carried by Sony Pictures Animation have neither the same teams nor the same objectives, even when they feature the same character. Anyone who wants the complete map of the existing versions will find it on the page listing the characters of the Spider-Man universe, and the guides gathered on the guides and advice page set out the possible routes. The Spider-Man mugs and the Spider-Man blankets, for their part, care nothing for these borders.

One last remark remains, and it doubles as a warning. This separation is not set in stone, and it has already shifted in the past: the character entered the shared live-action universe when plenty of people judged that impossible. What changed back then was not the writers' will but the commercial interest of both parties. That is the only factor worth watching, and it can't be read in trailers or in actors' statements — it is read in financial announcements, which is markedly less spectacular. In the meantime, any announcement of a crossover between the two universes should be treated as a rumour until both companies concerned confirm it, not just one of them.

Frequently asked questions

Is Beyond the Spider-Verse linked to Avengers: Doomsday?

No, not in any way. These are two separate productions, made by different companies, with distinct characters and distinct multiverse rules. The closeness of their release dates — December 2026 and June 2027 — is a calendar coincidence, not coordination.

Why does Spider-Man belong to Sony and not to Marvel?

Because the film rights were sold off a long time ago, at a point when Marvel was selling its characters to fund its business. Sony can therefore produce Spider-Man films on its own. The appearances within the shared live-action universe, for their part, rest on an agreement between the two companies.

Can Miles Morales appear in a Marvel Studios film?

Not as things stand. The character falls within the same rights perimeter as Spider-Man, and his animated version belongs to a separate production. An appearance would require a specific agreement, and nothing today suggests one is being considered.

Which film should you watch first?

The release order is enough, since they are independent: December 2026 for the first, June 2027 for the second. Neither spoils the other, neither sets up the other. A viewer who only likes one of the two registers can happily ignore the other without missing a thing.

Will we see Tom Holland in an animated film?

Nothing points to it. The animated trilogy has never used the likeness or the voice of the live-action actors, and its graphic approach doesn't lend itself to it. The nods it gives the other versions come through the drawing and through allusion, never through bringing in an actor directly.

Do you need to have seen the first two animated films before June 2027?

Yes, absolutely, and in order. The third instalment concludes a story begun in 2018 and left hanging at the end of the second. Unlike the December film, which you can follow after two catch-up films, this one assumes full knowledge of the two that came before.

Do the two multiverses follow the same rules?

No, and it is a frequent source of confusion. One works through parallel realities that can collide. The other rests on events that every version of the character has to go through, on an organisation that makes sure they are respected, and on anomalies that threaten the balance. Two different systems, two different narrative logics.