SPIDER-MAN 4: New Rumor Claims To Reveal Several Villains Considered For Now-Postponed Street-Level Story

Rumour has it Spider-Man 4 will no longer be a street-level story but, according to a new report, Marvel Studios was considering some fan-favourite villains for Spidey's delayed team-up with Daredevil...

By JoshWilding - Sep 13, 2024 08:09 AM EST

Filed Under: Spider-Man

Original plans called for Spider-Man 4 to be a street-level story revolving around Peter Parker and Daredevil teaming up to battle Mayor Wilson Fisk. Ant-Man was expected to factor into the story and the movie was eyeing a 2025 release until last year's strikes caused chaos in Hollywood.

Now, the movie is expected to swing into theaters in 2026, smack bang between Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars.

Tom Holland's Peter Parker will supposedly be the former's lead character, so a simple street-level story is no longer going to work, especially if Doomsday ends with the destruction of Earth-616 and the creation of a new Battleworld-like reality.

Yesterday, The Cosmic Circus reported that the plan is for Spider-Man 4 to revolve around Peter and Tom Hardy's Venom teaming up to battle Knull, God of Symbiotes, as he looks to envelop the Multiverse in darkness.

The site has since shared new details on what Marvel Studios was considering for a movie that once looked set to be a sequel to Daredevil: Born Again (which also no longer works following a creative overhaul and the fact that season 2 won't begin production until later this year).

Apparently, multiple villains were being considered for Spider-Man 4, including the Maggia, Mister Negative, Spencer Smythe, the Scorpion, and Prowler. Interestingly, it's said, "Marvel still intends to tell this story...but we may have to wait a bit longer."

Destin Daniel Cretton will direct Spider-Man 4, while Spider-Man: No Way Home scribes Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers are returning to write the script. No official details have been revealed so anything you read should be taken with a pinch of salt for now. Still, it's fun to speculate!

"The simple answer is that I’ll always want to do Spider-Man films," Holland told Deadline earlier this year. "I owe my life and career to Spider-Man. So the simple answer is yes. I’ll always want to do more."

However, he'd go on to say that the more "complicated answer" is making sure the fourth instalment lives up to its predecessors.

"We have the best in the business working toward whatever the story might be. But until we’ve cracked it, we have a legacy to protect," Holland explained. "The third movie was so special in so many ways that we need to make sure we do the right thing."

"This is the first time in this process that I’ve been part of the creative so early. It’s just a process where I’m watching and learning. It’s just a really fun stage for me," he added. "Like I said, everyone wants it to happen. But we want to make sure we’re not overdoing the same things."

Spider-Man 4 doesn't have a confirmed release date.

SPIDER-MAN 4 Will Reportedly Feature Spidey Teaming Up With Tom Hardy's VENOM To Battle [SPOILER]

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33 Comments

Fares - 9/13/2024, 8:09 AM

TheVisionary25 - 9/13/2024, 8:13 AM

@Fares - let’s just take this as a rumor which may or may not be true…

Maybe I’m just being delusionally naive lol but I still have hope

Fares - 9/13/2024, 9:28 AM

@TheVisionary25 - Of course, of course. And hey I'm not gonna knock the rumored new premise either. In the right hands, it can be done in a great way, but as far as premises go, I prefer the rumored old one.

TheVisionary25 - 9/13/2024, 9:30 AM

@Fares - I agree

xfan320 - 9/13/2024, 8:12 AM

I'd be down for a Man-Spider/mutation storyline as well... 🤞

Put some body horror into Spider-Man again! 😁 the animated series arc was one of my absolute all time faves! Maybe combine it with Smythe and the Spider Slayers.

I'd pay money for that

RegularPoochie - 9/13/2024, 8:45 AM

@xfan320 -

ItsNotForMeWahh - 9/13/2024, 9:08 AM

@xfan320 - May not be exactly what you mean but I loved this scene in Far From Home

I completely agree though, it's a second trilogy for this Spider-man, make it darker. I would love Spider Slayers or even a transformation

DravenCorvis - 9/13/2024, 8:16 AM

"so a simple street-level story is no longer going to work, especially if Doomsday ends with the destruction of Earth-616 and the creation of a new Battleworld-like reality."

Don't know why you're jumping to that conclusion so quickly and easily.

Spidey 4 could easily be a prequel story set between NWH and Doomsday.

JustAWaffle - 9/13/2024, 8:45 AM

@DravenCorvis - I think they’re setting up a soft reboot. It only makes sense. I can’t imagine how they would smoothly incorporate all of those mutants without it feeling super choppy.

Apophis71 - 9/13/2024, 9:37 AM

@DravenCorvis - It could, as in do an Antman 2 thing, but only if Spider-man is not in Doomsday thus the conclusion is jumped to I assume by believing he will be in that and are not trying to pull off a complex interconnected thing where he is in it for the first act only setting up his own film in full paralel to the remainder of Doomsday but ending just after it setting up a multiverse team for Secret Wars.

Spoken - 9/13/2024, 8:16 AM

......[frick]ing Sony....

0bstreperous - 9/13/2024, 8:23 AM

But Venom 3 is going to stink...

dragon316 - 9/13/2024, 8:59 AM

@0bstreperous - so far venom movies look better from what Sony has made so far except for animated Spider-Man movies only if look it from different prospective lethal protector personality ultimate venom look and powers there you have it ., yeah we get marvel taskmaster looks bad , modock was no better , kang push over beat by ants sad,

?si=yPqAlH7UoYqHA1FG

Thing94 - 9/13/2024, 8:25 AM

I'm totally down for a Spider-Man and Venom movie with Knull

ItsNotForMeWahh - 9/13/2024, 8:29 AM

Id be super down for Smythe, Scorpion, and The Prowler showing up. I like Mist Negative but would almost want him to be in Spider-man 5.

Smythe bringing out a Spider Slayer in the 3rd act could be cool

HammerLegFoot - 9/13/2024, 8:34 AM

So lets say Tom gets the script for Spidey 4 and he just thinks its terrible, does he have the option to walk away or would they continuingly refine the script until its to his liking? Was just curious

ItsNotForMeWahh - 9/13/2024, 8:37 AM

@HammerLegFoot - I doubt he has been given that much control but it would be detailed in a contract renewal. Normally we wouldn't see it but Sony is notorious for crappy security so it'll probably be leaked from a breach at some point

Overall I see that as more of a marketing talking point to show he's on the side of the fans

HammerLegFoot - 9/13/2024, 9:20 AM

@ItsNotForMeWahh - Didnt think of it that way but I can see that.

bobevanz - 9/13/2024, 8:37 AM

Engagement for rage bait

Matchesz - 9/13/2024, 8:39 AM

The way these rumors go from “Venom will not be in it, it will be grounded” to “Venom will be in it with Knull god of symbiotes, and its set i the multiverse” either its all a bunch of bs or they really dont know what tf their doing and winging it hard

dagenspear - 9/13/2024, 8:42 AM

5 villains? That seems like a bit much to me. But at least Scorpion would have been used.

dragon316 - 9/13/2024, 9:03 AM

@dagenspear - sandman, green goblin , dock ock, lizard , electro , Spider-Man 3 movie villians

Apophis71 - 9/13/2024, 9:44 AM

@dagenspear - 5 villains may seem a bit much for a young Spider-man on his own (even tho many wanted the character to face a sinister 6 on his own at one point or another with this or prior incarnations) but he wasn't going to be on his own as the contract with Sony required the inclusion of a non-Sony MCU lead character (supposedly Antman in this case) and was supposed to also have DD which instantly makes it a more plausable 3 against 5.

All of that said they could have been considering a list they were going to slim down to only a few, as such one or more of those 5 may have been dropped once they fine tuned and never an intent to use all of them (and all could be BS too obv)

dagenspear - 9/13/2024, 10:09 AM

@dragon316 - Only at the end really.

dagenspear - 9/13/2024, 10:10 AM

@Apophis71 - I was more thinking about it in story development, I think.

Order66 - 9/13/2024, 8:55 AM

[frick]ing Sony interfering with Marvel Studios plans. What else is new?

TheVisionary25 - 9/13/2024, 8:58 AM

God , I hope this stupid rumor of a team up with Hardy’s Venom against Knull or anything Multiverse related isn’t true…

Mister Negative would be great as the villain of the next film since versions of him have connections to F.E.A.S.T which was established in FFH and we saw in NWH as the place where Aunt May worked and was a non profit charitable organization.

Perhaps now Martin Li has taken over that and is using it as a Front for his criminal activities so Peter decides to stop him because he’s in a way tainting May’s Legacy etc.

hell maybe Peter works there and forms a bond with Li and doesn’t know he and Negative are the same person till later on.

There are so many routes like that they could go instead of another multiverse story.

Order66 - 9/13/2024, 8:58 AM

This movie should have been street level and Peter learning to be on his own. Villains should have been Kingpin, Hammerhead, Tombstone and Maggia Crime Syndicate. Sprinkle a little Daredevil for a quick team up and you would have had a banger.

FireandBlood - 9/13/2024, 9:04 AM

Marvel needs to put their foot down because this movie is representative of them, not Sony. And the last thing they need is a mother stinker, especially not a Spidey one.

And [frick] Venom and all those shitty Sony movies. [frick] Sony, too. [foo foo]s!

TheManWithoutFear - 9/13/2024, 9:09 AM

The symbiote villains are the worst thing to happen to Spider-Man outside of OMD. If Knull is the villain of a Spider-Man teamup with Venom i think i would rather do something crazy like watch Kraven the Hunter.

IAmAHoot - 9/13/2024, 9:58 AM

"Apparently, multiple villains were being considered for Spider-Man 4, including the Maggia, Mister Negative, Spencer Smythe, the Scorpion, and Prowler."

Guarantee you none of these were considered for the main villain of MCU's Spider-Man 4...

TheVisionary25 - 9/13/2024, 10:08 AM

@IAmAHoot - it’s obviously going to be Big Wheel lol

Forthas - 9/13/2024, 9:58 AM

I could see a Prowler and Scorpion team up and if they are not going to use Norman Osbourne then at least bring back Vulture. Micheal Keaton brought what I used to think was a lame character to life. That to me is his best role in any comic book film.

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SPIDER-MAN 4: New Rumor Claims To Reveal Several Villains Considered For Now-Postponed Street-Level Story

Rumour has it Spider-Man 4 will no longer be a street-level story but, according to a new report, Marvel Studios was considering some fan-favourite villains for Spidey's delayed team-up with Daredevil...

SPIDER-MAN 4 Will Reportedly Feature Spidey Teaming Up With Tom Hardy's VENOM To Battle [SPOILER]

SPIDER-MAN 4 Now Rumored To Be An "AVENGERS-Level Event" As More Details About The MCU's Future Surface