Avengers: The Kang Dynasty and Avengers: Secret Wars both look set to bring back a lot of familiar faces as "Variants," meaning fans are expecting big names from past eras of big and small screen storytelling to appear. It's also where we anticipate Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield returning as their respective versions of Spider-Man.
Peter Parker has more history on screen than most heroes, and while those two are best known for playing the web-slinger in live-action, there are plenty of alternate Spider-Men we would love to see appear when realities collide a few years from now.
These movies will likely serve as a perfect opportunity for Marvel Studios to deliver some vastly different takes on Spidey, whether it's Variants from animation, video games, or even the comics. After all, what a missed trick it would be to ignore Zombie Hunter Spidey and Spider-Girl in a blockbuster that promises to explore the Multiverse like never before!
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8. Zombie Hunter Spider-Man
This Variant made his debut in What If?, and while the animated series has yet to make an impact on the wider MCU, it would make sense for this Spidey to make an appearance in this movie.
The "Zombie Hunter" Spider-Man was part of the show's "Marvel Zombies" episode, and while the ending hinted at a grim ending for Peter Parker and his fellow heroes, it would be a blast to visit this reality in live-action. Heck, making Spidey a zombie would be a fun visual, and a nice way to touch on what became of this Variant.
We wouldn't bank on this Spider-Man playing a huge role in Avengers: Secret Wars, but there's definitely potential for a fun cameo with this character that could leave a lasting impact.
7. Peter B. Parker
There were a lot of things to love about Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, and we'd love to see Marvel Studios and Sony Pictures reach an agreement that would Tom Holland to cameo in one of the upcoming sequels in exchange for Jake Johnson showing up as Peter B. Parker in Avengers: Secret Wars.
In many ways the breakout character of the 2018 movie, we'd love to visit this Spider-Man's world in live-action, especially now he's reunited with Mary Jane and had a baby. It would, however, be crucial that this cameo be made feel different from whatever we see in the Friendly Neighbourhood Spidey's world, so perhaps it could be the pre-Into the Spider-Verse Variant?
Either way, Johnson playing a live-action version of this animated fan favourite would be a delight, and while we imagine this cameo would be a comedic one, it'd still be fun seeing him leap into action, even briefly.
6. PlayStation Spider-Man
Sony's PlayStation games have been a huge hit across both the PS4 and PS5, with Yuri Lowenthal's Peter Parker definitely striking a chord with fans. It would be incredibly easy to have this Variant appear as he could be brought to life with visual effects and never unmasked (meaning Lowenthal can lend his voice to the hero without any face-swapping controversy).
This Spider-Man has already gotten a taste of Multiversal madness in the comic books, and his genius-level intellect could be a big part of why his fellow wall-crawlers track him down for help.
That costume would look amazing in live-action, and no matter how big or small a role this Variant plays in proceedings, it would be a shame for him not to be part of the army that assembles to finally put Kang the Conqueror down once and for all.
5. FOX's Spider-Man
We could have filled this feature with Variants from Spider-Man's animated adventures, but for us, it has to be Christopher Daniel Barnes' version from the 1990s series on FOX.
As great as Spectacular Spider-Man was, this show was a huge part of what made the wall-crawler so popular with children prior to Sam Raimi's movie being released in 2002. It's also a series that remains as beloved today as when it first aired, and in terms of sheer nostalgia, this cameo is a must.
We're sure it would be simple enough to recreate this Spidey with visual effects, and hearing Barnes' voice would be enough for longtime fans to appreciate a truly spectacular Easter Egg. This Spider-Man even travelled through the Multiverse to alternate realities, so catching up with him here could serve as a nice farewell of sorts to this iconic series.
4. Miles Morales
At this point, Miles Morales' popularity is nearing Peter Parker's, and after that mention in Spider-Man: Homecoming, we're hoping his live-action debut is being planned for the next trilogy.
If not, then he should absolutely factor into Avengers: Secret Wars to at least set the stage for his eventual MCU debut. We're not sure which Variant of Miles would be best suited to appearing, but Spidey meeting the kid who ultimately replaces him when he falls in battle would be a suitably hard-hitting moment.
Whatever the case may be, it would be a missed opportunity not to do something with Miles here, and it would definitely be preferable for Marvel Studios to do something with the character before Avi Arad steps in and throws him into Morbius 2 or something along those lines.
3. Leonardo DiCaprio As Spider-Man
Quite a few actors have narrowly missed out on playing Spider-Man on screen, but as we started thinking about a huge A-List cameo for Avengers: Secret Wars on par with Tom Cruise as Iron Man, for example, there was only one name that came to mind.
Leonard DiCaprio almost played Peter Parker in a bizarre-sounding movie helmed by James Cameron in the 1990s, and this Variant unmasking to reveal the actor's face would be absolutely nuts. After all, we can't imagine Leo ever taking on a leading role in an MCU movie, but a cameo that references an early near-miss in his career might be something he'd consider.
We're certainly not banking on that, but you have to admit this would be quite a shocker for moviegoers and, failing this, we'd be on board with it being Jake Gyllenhaal instead (he nearly replaced Maguire in Spider-Man 2).
2. Spider-Girl
Sony Pictures is still thought to be developing a Spider-Woman movie with Olivia Wilde, and seeing as Jessica Drew still hasn't been cast, there's at least a slim chance of a crossover here. However, we'd say there's an even more likely candidate.
We are, of course, talking about Mayday Parker, and while we wouldn't anticipate her making more than just a brief cameo, Peter meeting his and MJ's future daughter would blow his mind. She could be from a possible future timeline in the MCU, and Zendaya could even be the one who suits up (albeit with a few changes made to her appearance).
Assuming MJ still doesn't remember Peter Parker by the time Avengers: Secret Wars rolls around, then this meeting would be even more devastating for the MCU's web-slinger.
1. Future Spider-Man
We mentioned Peter B. Parker, but what if the MCU's Peter gets a glimpse into his own future? Sam Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy took that version of the hero to college, as did The Amazing Spider-Man movies...however, that was barely touched on, and neither of them ever got to grow up.
Holland's Spidey is likely heading to college if he gets another trilogy, but we'd love to see him get a glimpse of his future beyond that whether it's as the next Tony Stark (yuck) or a high school science teacher.
Visual effects to age the actor up would be all that's needed here, and if this Peter gets to see what his heroic future looks like, it could ensure he stays on a path that makes him one of the MCU's greatest heroes. This could even tie into a possible Spider-Girl appearance in the movie or serve as his "happy ending" if Sony decides to take the character back.