When Tom Holland was doing the rounds to promote Spider-Man: No Way Home and Uncharted, he repeatedly made it clear he wasn't signed up for any future Spider-Man movies and was mulling over whether it was the right time to leave the role behind.
It felt like a public negotiating tactic and one which seemingly paid off as, earlier this year, Holland hinted he'd been close to signing a deal for Spider-Man 4 prior to the WGA strike.
Unfortunately, that saw discussions come to a halt and since then, SAG-AFTRA members have joined writers on the picket lines. Still, it's a step in the right direction, as is the rumour Spider-Man: Homecoming, Spider-Man: Far From Home, and Spider-Man: No Way Home writers Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers are returning to the MCU for this next chapter.
Will Spider-Man 4 still serve as a sequel to Daredevil: Born Again after the Disney+ TV show's recent creative shake-up? It's hard to say, though we've previously heard that, in the movie, Peter Parker - now a street-level superhero akin to his comic book counterpart - is going to team up with the Man Without Fear to take down Mayor Wilson Fisk after the Kingpin of Crime sets out to bring an end to vigilantes.
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If that is indeed the movie's premise, then it would be hard to complain. Unfortunately, it seems we'll be waiting a long time before finding out because a new update from scooper Daniel Richtman claims Spider-Man 4 is currently eyeing a late 2024 production start.
Given everything that's happening in Hollywood right now, we shouldn't be surprised by this news. The WGA strike ending means the sequel's creative team can return to work, but with actors still on the picket lines, that's bound to slow things down.
After passing on Fantastic Four, Jon Watts is expected to return for Spider-Man 4 alongside stars Tom Holland and Zendaya. No release date has been announced, though we're guessing it won't swing into theaters before 2026.
That means a five-year gap between No Way Home and this untitled fourth instalment, but it gives the MCU's Peter Parker time to grow up and to perhaps have even graduated from college by the time we see him next. Thankfully, the wall-crawler's high school days are definitely behind him, anyway!