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 multiverse mechanics that are incompatible, 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, after being 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 team film, produced by Marvel Studios, bringing together characters from several strands. 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 round-up of the release date and the official information on the animated film.

One scheduling detail is worth noting, because it feeds the confusion: these two releases bracket a period during which the character will be everywhere, for six months. To an unsuspecting viewer, that abundance looks like a coordinated strategy. It is not: 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 heart 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 dates back to a time when Marvel was selling off its characters to fund the 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 just as true and often forgotten: Marvel Studios cannot bring animated characters created by Sony into its films either, without going through the same channel. The partition is not a creative choice, it is a legal architecture. A 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 separates the two lineages clearly.

COLLECTOR FIGURES

Tom Holland Spider-Man Figure

The live-action version remains 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 do not work the same way

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

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 that universe, and the overall mechanic is 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 charged with preserving those paths, 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 share a story would mean sacrificing one of them. The Spider-Man figures and the Spider-Man T-shirts cheerfully mix the two aesthetics; the storylines cannot.

What the separation has allowed on both sides

It would be easy to present this partition as a handicap. The facts say otherwise: it is probably what allowed the animated trilogy to exist at all. Free of any obligation to a shared continuity, it was able to invent its own visual 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 cinema established him to Miguel O'Hara or Peni Parker — have become major figures in the franchise in just a few years, without ever needing to meet the live-action version.

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

No Way Home: the exception that proves the rule

One counter-example always comes up in discussions: the 2021 film did bring together several actors who have played the character, and several villains from other strands. 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 nuance, 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 is confirmed to date, and the state of the evidence is reviewed in the article setting out what we really know. What is certain is that no character from the animated trilogy is involved in that scenario.

POSTERS AND PRINTS

Spider-Man Across The Spider Verse Poster

The animated trilogy's visual identity is the most recognisable in the whole franchise, and it looks like nothing else. This poster 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

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 should not expect a conclusion from it. The theories about the web-slinger's place in the second instalment are developed in the analysis devoted to Secret Wars.

The animated June film has the opposite job: to close a trilogy opened in 2018 and continued in the second instalment, which stopped on an unresolved situation. It has to resolve, not set up. Audience expectations on this point are detailed in the article on what fans really want, and the question of the antagonist in the one wondering who the villain will be.

These 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 needs no knowledge of contracts to be understood. 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 ever happen?

Technically, nothing rules it out for good. Agreements get renegotiated, strategies change, and recent history shows that configurations once judged impossible sometimes end up happening. But the possible has to be told apart from the probable, and to date nothing public points that way.

Three obstacles stack up. The first is contractual and does not depend on the writers. The second is technical: blending stylised animation and live action in a single story demands 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 most sensible approach is to enjoy them separately. December for a team 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 every version of the web-slinger works as a map, and the costumes and fancy dress from the universe let you pick your side for the release.

COLLECTOR FIGURES

Miguel O'Hara Spider-Man Figure

The most emblematic character on the animated side has never set foot in the other universe, and that is what makes him singular. This piece captures his 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 are looking at

One simple marker settles most of the confusion: the format. If it is animated with a stylised graphic treatment and comic-book textures, it is the Sony trilogy. If it is live action with well-known actors and a shared universe populated by other heroes, it is 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 meets 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 admits few exceptions, and it lets you sort any trailer immediately.

A third marker, useful for online articles: 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 aims, even when they feature the same character. Anyone wanting 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, could not care less about these borders.

One last remark, which 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 many judged the thing impossible. What changed then was not the writers' wishes but the commercial interest of both parties. That is the only factor to watch, and it is read neither in trailers nor in actors' statements — it is read in financial releases, which is considerably less spectacular. In the meantime, any announcement of a crossover between the two universes should be treated as a rumour until it is confirmed by both of the companies concerned, not just one.

Frequently asked questions

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

No, not at all. They 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 scheduling 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 time when Marvel was selling its characters to fund the 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.

Could 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 on the table.

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 anything.

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 lends itself poorly to that. The nods it gives to other versions come through the drawing and through allusion, never through directly bringing in an actor.

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 catching up on two films, this one assumes full knowledge of both predecessors.

Do the two multiverses follow the same rules?

No, and it is a frequent source of confusion. One works through parallel realities liable to 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.