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.