That Hashtag Show has another major has another major Spider-Man: Homecoming sequel reveal, coming on the heels of the bombshell earlier this week that Tom Holland was on the Venom set. This time the news has to do with casting and the possibility that, yet again, Sony’s spin-offs are more connected to the MCU than many believed.

We recently confirmed that the 2019 sequel to Spider-Man: Homecoming would begin production this spring with principal photography taking place in either Germany or the UK. Now we have an idea of why! We’ve learned from our source that Marvel Studios, under the supervision of longtime casting director Sarah Finn, are on the hunt for a European actress in her 20s to play what was described to us as a “femme fatale.”

So there is a possibility that the rumors of a European Gwen Stacy being cast were actually misidentifying a character that is in face Felicia Hardy! That Hashtag Show goes on to talk about how the filming schedules for Silver & Black and Spider-Man: Homecoming 2 (for lack of a better name) are situated in a way that would allow the same actress to be Black Cat in both films and create another crossover between the Sony-Spider-Verse and the MCU. (The other major crossover potential to watch for is if Homecoming‘s Michael Mando appears in Silver & Black, since the Scorpion is a rumored antagonist in that film, and his intro in the MCU fit the character description in those rumors.)

Given the details that are leaking from these films, it seems more and more likely that there is going to be some sort of connection between the Sony movies and the mainline MCU. This is exactly what both Kevin Feige and Amy Pascal said last summer when they said “Although you’re not going to see them in the Marvel Universe, it’s in the same reality.” (This is also why the editorial team at MCU Exchange has covered both Venom and Silver & Black despite chronic complaints that they aren’t “MCU movies.”) A ready example for the relationship is already available in the TV MCU properties. Those shows take place in the MCU and reference the MCU, but MCU films ignore their existence essentially. Expect something very similar to occur here, where the Sony films will be able to ground themselves in the MCU world but you won’t see reference the other way.

Another interesting character That Hashtag Show brought up was Jessica Drew a.k.a. Spider-Woman. Drew has long been a staple of the contemporary imagining of the Avengers and is a part of the usual fan wishlist for Spidey characters down the line. A major character in the Spider-Man AND Avenger mythos in her own right, she’s a character up for consideration when talking about “femme fatales” in the Spider-verse. She was born in Europe too so there’s that.

We would be remiss if we didn’t mention the plot elements this reveals for the next Spider-Man film. The first Homecoming film talked about Peter and his romantic feelings in a very sweet and innocent way. There was a lot about teen dating drama, without being overtly sexual in the portrayal of the actors. “Femme fatal” suggests that maybe there will be a sexier edge to the sequel, and that would be necessarily true if Black Cat is present and at all like her comic persona. Also, moving the action to Europe is an interesting choice. The MCU version of Spidey still hasn’t done any of the stereotypical web-slinging amongst Manhattan’s sky-scrapers.

How do you feel about the possible connections between these films? Should Feige and co. embrace the other Spider-verse films a little more warmly? Or should he close the doors and refuse entry into his universe for Brock, Hardy, and Silver Sable? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

Source: That Hashtag Show