It's been nearly three years since Spider-Man: No Way Home was released in theaters and we may have a good eighteen months or so before Spider-Man 4 finally hits the big screen.
The hope is that the movie will be worth the wait, and with Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings director Destin Daniel Cretton at the helm, we're expecting something special. The question is, what story do Marvel Studios and Sony Pictures plan on telling?
Rumours have been running rampant in recent weeks and, with Venom: The Last Dance nearly here, now feels like a good time to sift through those reports to bring you a better idea of what to expect. From plot details to supporting characters and villains, we have a full breakdown that better explains the story's place in the wider Multiverse Saga.
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8. An "Avengers-Level" Event...Featuring Venom!
While it was initially reported that Spider-Man 4 would be a street-level adventure pitting the wall-crawler and Daredevil against Mayor Wilson Fisk, things changed earlier this year with the rumour it had evolved into "an Avengers-level event."
We were later told that "a movie can have multiversal elements and still be a street-level story," with Spider-Man 4 described as a "blend" of both.
There's surely no way Marvel Studios can blend both ideas. However, even if Spidey does battle a Multiversal threat, that doesn't mean he won't be protecting the people of New York City while doing so. He'll have some company, though...Venom!
7. Venom: The Last Dance's Reshoots
Almost immediately after Knull, God of the Symbiotes, was revealed in the final Venom: The Last Dance trailer, a story dropped claiming the plan is for the Marvel Studios to have Tom Holland's Spider-Man and Tom Hardy's Venom team up in Spider-Man 4.
Knull is supposedly "seeking to enshroud the entire multiverse in his darkness following its discovery," and with this movie coming out between Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars, it becoming more than a street-level adventure was perhaps inevitable.
Despite the Venom threequel taking place in Las Vegas, Hardy was recently spotted filming in New York for last-minute reshoots. Apparently, those may have taken place to bring Eddie Brock back to Earth-616.
6. A New Trilogy
Once Knull is dealt with and the MCU is softly rebooted following the events of Avengers: Secret Wars, two more Spider-Man movies will supposedly follow. Peter Parker is also expected to have a major role in Avengers: Doomsday.
Marvel Studios and Sony Pictures have reportedly reached a new deal to keep the web-slinger in the MCU for both another trilogy and two or three additional appearances, something we're sure Holland was fine with agreeing to after his mixed fortunes away from this role.
Crucially, this also means the door isn't closed on that team-up with Daredevil. With Daredevil: Born Again season 2 delayed by a creative overhaul and strikes, we're not shocked to see Spidey pulled back into the Multiverse of Madness.
5. Spider-Man: King In Black
"Home" was the main theme in the previous Spider-Man trilogy's titles from Homecoming to Far From Home and, eventually, No Way Home. One semi-reliable insider has since claimed that this fourth chapter will go by the far more specific Spider-Man: King in Black.
Spider-Man: King in Black? That has a nice ring to it. It also adds weight to rumours the hero will battle Knull - the King in Black in question - and where he goes, Venom surely can't be far behind.
Venom: The Last Dance director Kelly Marcel has confirmed the threequel is "just the beginning" and that he won't be a one-off villain. She'd add, "Beyond this trilogy, there are more stories to explore - God is coming."
4. Plans For Andrew Garfield And Tobey Maguire
Even before the Venom rumours, there was chatter online about Sony wanting Spider-Man 4 to be another Multiversal movie involving Andrew Garfield and Tobey Maguire. Why? Because Spider-Man: No Way Home made almost $1.2 billion in 2021.
It didn't take long for us to hear that "there is a very strong possibility they show up for an extended role this time around," meaning we could see a lot more of them in Spider-Man 4.
They're also expected to appear in both Avengers movies, though Garfield may be the main Spider-Man in Avengers: Secret Wars if what we've heard in recent weeks is anywhere close to accurate. Maguire will be there too, but likely as a supporting character.
3. A New Suit...And Doom!
There has to be a reason Spider-Man: No Way Home saw Eddie leave a piece of his alien suit behind on Earth-616 and we anticipate that being addressed in Venom: The Last Dance. Either way, the past year has been dominated by claims Peter will don the black suit in Spider-Man 4.
A team-up with Venom makes that even more likely, but there's another big name supposedly set to appear: Robert Downey Jr.'s Doctor Doom. In the Multiverse Saga, Spidey's relationship with Doom is expected to be far more important than the villain's dynamic with Mister Fantastic.
If Doomsday ends with an Incursion, then Victor Von Doom will likely be left to rule over whatever is left and could task Peter Parker with stopping Knull. For Sony, it will be worth paying Downey whatever he wants to appear as he helped make Spider-Man: Homecoming a hit in 2017.
2. A New Supporting Cast
Had COVID-19 not intervened, chances are Spider-Man: No Way Home would have been a very different movie. For starters, early plans called for Peter Parker to turn to Adrian Toomes, a.k.a. The Vulture, for help.
We'd imagine both Marvel and Sony want to ignore what happened in Morbius and it was recently reported that Michael Keaton will reprise his role as the winged villain in Spider-Man 4. Zendaya is also returning, though there will be a second female lead too (not Black Cat, apparently).
Peter is supposedly getting a new supporting cast thanks to his move to college, while two new villains are also being cast. Andy Serkis is rumoured to be playing Knull, but we're bound to also see some supporting baddies.
1. When Does It Actually Start Shooting?
Rumour has it Spider-Man 4 is set to begin principal production in the UK on May 25, 2025. Filming will then wrap in October, with Holland shooting his role in Avengers: Doomsday at the start of the year.
That's yet to be confirmed, though the trades have revealed that Destin Daniel Cretton will direct Spider-Man 4, with Spider-Man: No Way Home scribes Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers are returning to write the script.
A release date for the movie has not been announced, though we expect it to swing into theaters on July 24, 2026. Again, that places is smack bang between Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars.