Rumours continue to swirl about what's happening with Spider-Man 4. From clashing creative visions to the hunt for a director, there's a great deal of uncertainty surrounding what Marvel Studios and Sony Pictures have planned for the web-slinger's MCU return.
Spider-Man: No Way Home set the stage for us to get a true street-level Spidey from the comics in this shared world and there are lots of exciting directions that can take the hero in. The question is, what can be done to make this movie a truly spectacular spectacle?
In this feature, we've come up with some ideas which we believe will help Spider-Man's next solo outing soar. That ranges from plot points and characters we'd like to see included in the movie...and even a few things which shouldn't be!
To take a look at our ideas for Spider-Man 4, simply click on the "Next"/"View List" buttons below.
5. Put The Multiverse On Hold
There are rumblings that Sony Pictures is keen to include Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield's Spider-Men in Spider-Man 4. Why? Well, it probably has something to do with Spider-Man: No Way Home's near-$2 billion box office haul.
On the one hand, we'd love to see that trio share the screen again. However, we'd be much happier seeing Peter Parker come to terms with his new status quo on his own before reuniting with his fellow web-slingers in the upcoming Avengers movies.
The Multiverse Saga has been very hit-and-miss and we could do without yet another MCU movie being devoted to different realities and Variants. Save that for a future story and put the spotlight on Earth-616's web-slinger in Spider-Man 4 because that's where a great story can truly be found.
4. It's Time To Move On From MJ
Zendaya will return in Spider-Man 4 and given what a powerhouse talent she is, that's not something we're going to complain about. However, we'd like to see MJ take on either a small supporting role or perhaps even suit up as a vigilante in her own right. Jackpot, perhaps?
While we're sure Peter and MJ will one day reunite and get their happy ending, it would be good to see the wall-crawler find a new love interest during this adventure. Black Cat is a good fit for a street-level story, though we'd love to see Gwen Stacy make her MCU debut.
Heck, there's probably a version of Spider-Man 4 without any sort of love interest and, given where Spidey finds himself after the events of Spider-Man: No Way Home, finding romance is likely the last thing he'll have on his mind.
3. A Team-Up With Daredevil...
The prevailing theory right now is that Spider-Man 4 will see the webbed wonder team up with Daredevil to do battle with the Kingpin of Crime. That sounds like a great story to us and, in terms of MCU cameos, feels like the right choice of character for a non-Multiversal story.
We can't help but wonder how Daredevil: Born Again will set the stage for this team-up, though; does Wilson Fisk prevail, with the 18-episode series essentially ending with "To Be Continued... in Spider-Man 4"?
We're not sure if that does the Man Without Fear any favours and expecting fans to watch a TV show before a movie hasn't exactly worked all that well for Marvel Studios so far. Regardless, it would be a dream come true to see these two share the screen in live-action.
2. ...Or Not
Does Spider-Man 4 really need to be another team-up? There have already been rumblings about Ant-Man showing up and, while we appreciate Sony likes to benefit from the MCU's characters making appearances in these movies, the wall-crawler doesn't need any of them to sell tickets.
No longer backed up with Iron Man's technology, this movie could quite easily give us a story as simple as J. Jonah Jameson sending the Spider-Slayers and Scorpion after the vigilante in a bid to expose his identity to the world.
Yes, The Kingpin started as a Spider-Man villain, but there are heaps of other baddies from Peter's corner of the Marvel Universe we've yet to see on screen. Surely Roderick Kingsley could find the Green Goblin's stash and become the Hobgoblin, for example?
1. Set The Stage For Symbiote Spider-Man
Given what a dark headspace Spider-Man is probably in when this movie begins, Marvel Studios could choose to get that alien suit on the hero as soon as possible. We'd probably save it for a post-credits scene and Spider-Man 5, to be honest, but some sort of set-up would be good.
Not including Tom Hardy's Venom in Spider-Man: No Way Home was a missed trick and to do nothing with the fact a piece of the Symbiote is now on Earth-616 would be mind-boggling.
Heck, one of the Avengers movies could even make this a subplot, taking us into a fifth Spider-Man outing which does feature Multiversal elements and an appearance from Hardy. Either way, it's about damn time Holland's web-slinger crosses paths with the Venom Symbiote...