The Spider-Verse/Venom Tease's Use Of Recycled Footage Raises Suspicions

Sony's animated "Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse" is potentially getting a crossover with Sony's live-action "Venom" franchise. The key word is "potentially" because any footage alluding to said crossover has yet to be officially sourced by Sony or anyone attached to the project. Instead it was shared on the YouTube page JoBlo Animated Videos. 

The video in question depicts the Spot (Jason Schwartzman) using his universe-hopping powers to appear inside a shop that is familiar for fans of "Venom: Let There Be Carnage." Inside, he steals a pack of gum and tells Mrs. Chen (Peggy Lu) he's robbing her because he's "the bad guy."

While it would be interesting to see these franchises collide, there's more than one reason to suspect this footage of being doctored. As previously mentioned, no one connected to Sony has yet to corroborate the authenticity of this clip. More importantly, the teaser uses recycled footage from "Let There Be Carnage."

The lines spoken by Schwartzman appear to be unique to the clip, but the live-action footage has been pulled directly from the "Venom" sequel. While this doesn't mean the footage is faked, it raises suspicions.

No one directly working on the film has confirmed this crossover, but the official Vietnamese Facebook page for "Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse" shared a still image from the teaser clip to its timeline. As of this writing, the post is still active on Facebook, and that does lend it some credit. Of course, it is possible that Sony doesn't consider the clip — legitimate or not — important enough to derail anything. Furthermore, no other official social media is corroborating the story.

Considering "Across the Spider-Verse" focuses on Miles Morales (Shameik Moore) traveling across the multiverse and meeting hundreds of other Spider-Men, it's not a stretch for Sony to include Venom. Plus, if Tom Hardy's Venom is to appear, this would be his second crossover after the events of "Spider-Man: No Way Home."

There are a lot of big claims from this clip, but until Sony directly confirms this connection, it's best to curb expectations. Besides, the movie is coming out in less than two weeks, so fans will learn the truth soon enough.