It's been a long time since Spider-Man: No Way Home swung into theaters, making Spider-Man 4 easily one of the MCU's most highly anticipated upcoming releases.
The rumour mill has churned out a seemingly endless list of possible supporting characters and villains, though no one can seem to agree on who or what we'll see in the movie next summer. Today, The Cosmic Circus has shed at least a little light on what's likely in store for us.
"I have heard many conflicting things, first Knull, then Mephisto, now Doom," explains the site's Alex Perez. "What I can say is, I don’t expect the villain to be someone 'street-level."
He'd later add that he's heard a "character with a whip is involved," a reference perhaps to either Black Cat or The Enforcers' Montana (the former seems more likely).
In the comics, Felicia Hardy has no interest in the man beneath the mask and now seems like the perfect time for a Spider-Man who has given up on being Peter Parker to get caught in the web of a morally dubious character like Black Cat.
Asked about Venom's possible role in Spider-Man 4, the scooper says, "Last I heard, they were planning on bringing in Eddie for Spider-Man 4, but we’ll see if that’s the case." The moment Knull was revealed to be in Venom: The Last Dance, he and Eddie Brock were said to be the plan for Spidey's next movie, so we'd advise against putting too much stock in that for now.
Other tidbits in the site's report include Peter being "emotionally conflicted" in Spider-Man 4 and a claim that the hero can somehow undo Doctor Strange's spell.
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings director Destin Daniel Cretton will be at the helm of Spider-Man 4, meaning fans are expecting some wild action scenes. Perez alluded to that by teasing, "The stunt/[choreography] team is having some fun with some pre-viz stuff."
It appears Marvel Studios and Sony Pictures are going all-in on the wall-crawler's next solo outing being a Multiversal adventure. This means we'll have to wait for the street-level story Spider-Man: No Way Home's closing moments seemingly promised us.
Charlie Cox and Vincent D'Onofrio have confirmed that they won't reprise their respective roles as Matt Murdock and Mayor Wilson Fisk in the movie, while Marvel Television boss Brad Winderbaum recently explained why Spidey won't appear in Daredevil: Born Again.
"You know, I'm not sure exactly what the rules are but I think [Sony] have longform television rights," the executive explained. "We can do 30-minute animation, I think."
Spider-Man 4 has been officially dated for July 31, 2026, with Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings director Destin Daniel Cretton helming a script penned by Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers.