We've been waiting what feels like a very long time for Spider-Man 4, but the movie is now finally somewhere on the horizon. Rumours continue to swirl about what to expect, though everyone seems to agree that Venom will factor into the story.
In Spider-Man: No Way Home's post-credits scene, we learned Eddie Brock had decided against travelling to New York to confront the web-slinger. However, when he was sent back to his reality, Venom left a piece of himself behind.
That has to be touched on eventually, and with Peter Parker friendless and alone, now could be the right time to take Spidey down a dark path.
In this feature, we're taking a deep dive into the Spider-Man 4 rumours and exploring where Marvel Studios could take this story in the hero's franchise...and beyond! Just tap the "Next"/"View List" buttons below to find out more...
5. Mac Gargan's New Suit
With The Kingpin rumoured to take centre stage in Spider-Man 4, it makes sense for New York City's Mayor to have heavies working for him. In this movie, Shocker and Scorpion are supposedly among them.
Both villains were introduced in Spider-Man: Homecoming, and it's about time Mac Gargan suits up. However, when he inevitably fails to take down Spidey (and perhaps Daredevil), it makes sense for him to turn to the alien costume Eddie left behind to "power up."
Marvel Studios has taken more than a few liberties with Spidey over the years (including Earth-616 having no Norman Osborn), so Mac becoming "Venom" before Peter and Eddie wouldn't be too controversial.
However, we'd bet on him looking more akin to the Scorpion seen in the banner image above.
4. Saving Peter Parker
A few social media scoopers have hinted at the possibility of Peter being saved by the alien suit. While different from the comics - where he found it in an alien machine which supposedly fabricates new costumes - this lines up with the Spider-Man 2 video game.
In that, Spidey was mortally wounded by Kraven the Hunter, prompting the alien to save his life by choosing to bond with a far more powerful host than Harry Osborn.
With the odds stacked against him (The Kingpin, Scorpion, Shocker, and no more Stark Tech), a Spider-Man with nothing to lose falling in battle would be a huge, and earned, moment for the character.
Saved by the Symbiote, Peter can return with new abilities, yet another new costume - Marvel Studios loves giving him those - and eventually, a dangerous new attitude.
3. Spider-Man's New Attitude
We just alluded to this, but even before getting the alien suit, Peter Parker is likely to be a vastly different character in Spider-Man 4.
Spider-Man: No Way Home saw the teenager grapple with the death of his Aunt May and contemplate killing the man who murdered her. Then, he had to undo the damage he'd unleashed by making the world - including the woman he loves - forget he exists.
Needless to say, he's not going to be in a happy place!
That makes Spider-Man 4 the ideal place to introduce the Venom Symbiote because it can take advantage of Peter's darker mindset and push him to some sinister places. The hero will surely rid himself of the suit eventually, and we're hoping Marvel Studios holds off on that until Spider-Man 5...
2. Secret Wars
Despite the rumours, there's a scenario where Peter doesn't discover the alien suit until travelling through the Multiverse in the next Avengers movies.
Instead of heading down that route, we'd like Spider-Man to go into those team-up projects with his new alien costume in hand. Tobey Maguire's Peter Parker would have a visceral reaction to seeing it again and we could even imagine it bonding with Andrew Garfield's Spidey if Tom Holland's Variant isn't among the heroes who survive Earth-616's incursion.
He'd return when reality is fixed, of course, but the point is that there's a lot of fun to be had here.
The Avengers are unlikely to trust Spider-Man now they no longer know who is beneath the mask, and giving Peter the Venom Symbiote will only make that more interesting.
1. Venom Unleashed
So, we've established that Mac Gargan and Peter Parker will each don the alien suit, but when the latter parts ways with Venom, what comes next?
Not many fans want to see Spider-Man as a villain, so we probably wouldn't head down the Spider-Man 2 route by pitting him against Miles Morales. Instead, he should part ways with the costume of his own free will, leaving it searching for revenge...and a new host.
It's at this stage Marvel Studios can introduce its own Eddie Brock Variant (this October's Venom: The Last Dance will be the final chapter for that iteration). We can then get the epic Spidey/Venom clash we've spent years waiting for.
What a way to end the next trilogy that would be!