Earlier this week, you might have noticed some chatter on social media about Madame Web star Sydney Sweeney suiting up as the MCU's Black Cat in Spider-Man 4.
Unfortunately, it was simply a recycled rumour from earlier this year; however, the chatter surrounding it reiterated just how excited many fans are at the prospect of the Euphoria and Anyone But You actress playing Felicia Hardy.
Black Cat's introduction in the Spider-Man: No Way Home follow-up makes perfect sense. Nobody remembers who Peter Parker is and the comics have established that, early on at least, Felicia has zero interest in the man beneath the mask. Reeling from the loss of MJ, the wall-crawler heading down a dark path seems like a logical next step and Black Cat would surely facilitate that after getting her claws into him.
While we'll have to wait and see what form Spider-Man 4 takes (there are competing rumours about it being a street-level story or another Multiversal epic), the super-talented BossLogic has now shared his take on Sweeney as Black Cat.
She looks perfect for the role and we'd be shocked if Sony Pictures and Marvel Studios don't find a way to make this happen.
There had been plans for Silver & Black, another Sony-produced Marvel movie teaming up Black Cat with Silver Sable. The project fell apart and, while we heard chatter of two separate solo outings, nothing has materialised in the years since.
Alongside Tom Holland, Zendaya is expected to reprise her role as MJ in Spider-Man 4. As noted, Sydney Sweeny is rumoured to be playing Black Cat, and it's been widely reported - but not confirmed - that Charlie Cox, Vincent D'Onofrio, and Paul Rudd will appear as Daredevil, The Kingpin, and Ant-Man.
As for who could direct Spider-Man 4, plenty of names are floating around online. Among them are Justin Lin (Fast & Furious), Drew Goddard (The Cabin in the Woods) and, most recently, Ms. Marvel's Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah and Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire helmer Adam Wingard.
"Amy [Pascal] and I are working on it," Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige recently said of Spider-Man 4. "We have writers who are going to be delivering us a draft relatively soon."
"We love [director] Jon [Watts]. Jon did three of the best Spider-Man films ever for us," he added in a separate interview. "He's got lots of things going on now. So we'll probably be looking for somebody else, just because he's busy."
Take a closer look at Sweeney as Black Cat in the social posts below.