Previous big-screen Peter Parkers Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield both returned for Spider-Man: No Way Home, joining Tom Holland's current MCU wall-crawler for a Multiversal adventure that went on to take in over $1 billion worldwide.
There have been persistent rumors that both actors are set to reprise their respective roles for the still untitled Spider-Man 4, but if plans are in place, Garfield is not about to confirm anything.
“I’m gonna disappoint you,” he tells GQ. “Yeah, no. But I know no one’s gonna trust anything I say from now on.”
Garfield is referring to the numerous times he denied the rumors that he was set to return for No Way Home, only to swing onto the screen alongside Holland and Maguire.
Even if Marvel/Sony were considering bringing Garfield and Maguire back at some point, plans might well have changed.
Several scoopers have claimed to have heard from reliable sources that the story still hasn't come together, indicating that the script might be undergoing a major overhaul due to differences of opinion between Holland and Marvel Studios chief Kevin Feige. Apparently, the movie "is still a long way from starting production" because "there isn’t a finalized shooting draft yet."
The movie has a release date of July 24, 2026, with filming reportedly scheduled to get underway around August of next year. There's still time to ensure that these deadlines are met, but insiders believe that delays are possible (Holland also has Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey to shoot next year, which could result in scheduling conflicts).
This wouldn't be the first time those involved with bringing the No Way Home follow-up to the screen had disagreements about the project. Previous reports have claimed that Feige and Sony's Tom Rothman clashed, with the former hoping to scale the Multiverse elements back for a smaller adventure. Rothman, meanwhile, is said to have wanted to capitalize on No Way Home's success by bringing Maguire and Garfield back as their respective takes on Peter Parker.
More recently, we heard that both studios had settled on a mostly grounded story with some Multiversal elements, though the movie was still being described as an "Avengers-level event" up until very recently.
Here's what Holland had to say about the fourth solo Spidey movie in a recent interview.
"We have the best in the business working toward whatever the story might be. But until we’ve cracked it, we have a legacy to protect. The third movie was so special in so many ways that we need to make sure we do the right thing."
It seems they are still trying to figure out what "the right thing" is. A number of rumors relating to the story have been doing the rounds, and if all of them are to be believed, we'll be seeing Holland, Maguire and Garfield's wall-crawlers join forces with Venom, Ghost Rider, Black Cat, Daredevil and The Punisher to face off against Mephisto, Vulture, Knull, and an army of Symbiotes.
Hopefully, those involved with Spidey 4 will come up with ideas that suit everyone and the project won't be hit with any significant setbacks.