Although it appeared that Sony lost the opportunity to expand its superhero cinematic universe with The Amazing Spider-Man 2, 2017 proved that the studio hasn't completely abandoned its plans. The Sinister Six movie and Spider-Man sequels aren’t going to happen, but there will be a SpiderVerse, even with no Spider-Man in sight.

Surprisingly, Venom was the first film to be announced. Tom Hardy was set to portray Eddie Brock, a villain previously played by Topher Grace in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man 3, so quite a leap has been made. Ruben Fleischer was announced to direct the R-rated flick, which was scheduled for an October 5, 2018 release.

Then the studio green-lighted another movie. Based on Spider-Man characters Black Cat and Silver Sable, Silver and Black will be directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood. It’s been given a February 8, 2019 release date.

Now it appears that Sony has its eye on Nightwatch, another Spider-Man character. He’s a relatively minor superhero, who appeared in just 42 issues since his debut in 1993. But Comic Book Resources had reported that Nightwatch was supposed to have been introduced in this year's Spider-Man: Homecoming. And now we might have discovered why that didn’t happen.

The website reported that the studio wants Spike Lee to direct the Nightwatch film, adding that Edward Ricourt (Now You See Me) is already working on the script. If it’s given the green light, it will be the third installment in Sony's SpiderVerse.

To be noted, Sony chairman Tom Rothman previously mentioned that the studio had plans for movies featuring Kraven the Hunter and Mysterio. It remains to be seen whether those projects will come to fruition.