We recently learned that Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings director Destin Daniel Cretton will take the helm of Sony Pictures and Marvel Studios' still untitled fourth Spider-Man movie, and production is now said to be full steam ahead.
Trade reports have already confirmed that filming should get underway early next year, and we may have a more exact timeframe thanks to MTTSH.
According to the scooper, "Spider-Man 4 begins filming in the UK at the end of May 2025, and they're casting a new female lead as well as a new male lead to serve as a foil for Peter."
This new female lead could be Black Cat, who has previously been rumored to appear. "Foil for Peter" is interesting wording, as it doesn't sound like this character is going to be an outright villain. Could we see a new take on Harry Osborn make his MCU debut, perhaps?
Plot details are still under wraps, but previous rumors have claimed that Sony's Tom Rothman and Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige have had some disagreements when it comes to the story of Spider-Man 4, with the latter hoping to scale the Multiverse stuff back for a smaller adventure. Rothman, meanwhile, is said to want to capitalize on No Way Home's success by bringing Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield back as their respective takes on Peter Parker.
More recently, we heard that both studios had settled on a mostly grounded story with some Multiversal elements, though the movie is still being described as an "Avengers-level event." There are also rumors that Spider-Man 4 will see Parker join forces with Venom to battle Knull, who will be introduced in Venom: The Last Dance.
Tom Holland will, of course, be back as the MCU's Spidey alongside Zendaya as MJ - though Deadline's report of Cretton taking the gig noted that their deals have yet to officially close.
Holland is believed to be "growing wary" of playing the iconic hero, so this could be his final solo outing as the wall-crawler - though he will almost certainly play a part in one or both of the upcoming Avengers films.
"We have the best in the business working toward whatever the story might be," the actor said in a recent interview. "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."
No Way Home scribes Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers are writing the script.