Tom Holland has been doing press in recent weeks to promote The Crowded Room and between that and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse's release, there's been a lot of talk about Spider-Man 4.
The Hollywood Reporter recently profiled the actor and Holland confirmed he's met with Marvel Studios and Sony Pictures, bringing "a bunch of notes and ideas" with him. Those meetings were going well but, unfortunately, came to a halt due to the WGA strike.
"It was myself, Amy, [Marvel Studios president] Kevin Feige, [executive producer] Rachel [O’Connor], sometimes other executives from Marvel will sit in," Holland recalls. "It’s a collaborative process. The first few meetings were about, ‘Why would we do this again?’ And I think we found the reason why. I’m really, really happy with where we’re at in terms of the creative."
That sounds promising, but he'd go on to confess, "I’m also a little apprehensive about it. There’s a bit of a stigma about the fourth one in all franchises."
"I feel like we hit a home run with our first franchise and there’s a part of me that wants to walk away with my head held high and pass the baton to the next lucky kid that gets to bring this character to life."
Thor: Love and Thunder is proof of that fourth film curse, but on the other hand, Avengers: Endgame was that franchise's fourth instalment and we all know how good that was.
As for the lucky kid Holland mentions, it could be Miles Morales. However, Spider-Man franchise producer Amy Pascal cast some doubt on bringing him into the MCU alongside Peter Parker.
"They’re completely separate worlds...you never know. I would never say no to anything," she says. "But we have a lot of movies to make about Miles and a lot of movies to make about Peter. I am a movie producer. I want to keep going with this franchise with Tom."
With that in mind, we're guessing Miles won't be showing up quite yet but Pascal is right in that there are still heaps of stories to tell about Peter, especially in the wake of Spider-Man: No Way Home.
Here's hoping work on Spider-Man 4 resumes soon, anyway!