Following the massive success of Spider-Man: No Way Home, there have been conflicting reports about the potential returns of Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield as our original big-screen wall-crawler and his Amazing Spider-Man counterpart.
Previous rumors have claimed that Sony Pictures' Tom Rothman and Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige had a difference of opinion when it comes to the plot of Spider-Man 4, with the latter 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 spectacular box office performance by bringing Maguire and Garfield back as their respective takes on Peter Parker.
Whatever disagreements Rothman and Feige may have had, they now seem to have been ironed out. The project is moving forward with No Way Home scribes Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers working on the script, and Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings director Destin Daniel Cretton at the helm. The movie has also been given an official release date of July 24, 2026.
Even so, some pretty wild rumors continue to swirl, and we've been hearing that everyone from Venom, Knull and the Symbiotes to Daredevil, Punisher and Mephisto are set to appear. Now, The Cosmic Circus' Alex Perez has shared some updates that might give us a slightly clearer picture of what to expect.
Perez has heard that both Marvel and Sony "want this film to be a team up movie in the way that Marvel produced Deadpool and Wolverine." This could take the form of Tom Holland's Spider-Man and Tom Hardy's Venom joining forces to battle Knull, but Perez's sources are also claiming that Maguire and Garfield will return - and they will have a "larger participation" than they had in No Way Home.
The movie has been described as a mostly grounded story with some Multiversal elements, and an "Avengers-level event." If even half of these rumors prove to be accurate, we're definitely leaning towards the latter.
Tom Holland will, of course, be back as the MCU's Spidey, but Zendaya's role as MJ has reportedly been reduced due to her commitments to other projects. The studios are said to be casting a new female lead, and Anya Taylor-Joy is rumored to be in talks to play the mysterious character.
"We have the best in the business working toward whatever the story might be," Holland said in a recent interview. "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."
What do you make of these (rumored) updates? Would you like to see Maguire and Garfield rejoin Holland for another adventure?