We got our first piece of major casting news for Sony Pictures and Marvel Studios' untitled Spider-Man movie yesterday, with Stranger Things alum Sadie Sink set to join Tom Holland for his fourth solo outing as the wall-crawling hero.
Deadline's report mentioned that the "prevailing theory" is that she will play Jean Grey, but the site added that she could appear as "another beloved redheaded Spider-Man character."
Jeff Sneider, who first reported on the rumor that Sink could be in line to play Jean in the upcoming X-Men reboot, has now shared some updates, and it sounds like the powerful mutant might be off the table.
In his newsletter, Sneider points out that Sony’s arrangement with Marvel requires the latter to provide each Spider-Man movie with a major MCU character. Jean Grey would certainly qualify, but adding her to Spider-Man 4 could "require Sony to give Lauren Shuler Donner a producing credit and fee, which Sony would be unlikely to agree to. Donner wasn’t mentioned in Deadline’s story alongside producers Kevin Feige and Amy Pascal."
It was assumed that the "redheaded character" mentioned must be Mary Jane Watson, but with Zendaya already playing "MJ" (they could always make Sink a Watson Multiverse variant), Sneider believes that Firestar and Black Cat are also "distinct possibilities."
Sure, Sink could dye her hair for any number of roles, but we just don't see it. Sink's natural color is something that sets her apart from many other young actors in Hollywood, so if we had to guess, we'd say there's a good chance her character will also have red hair.
Some pretty wild rumors relating to the film have been doing the rounds over the past couple of months, with Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield's wall-crawlers, Venom, Ghost Rider, Black Cat, Daredevil, The Punisher, Mephisto, Kingpin, and Knull just some of the characters mentioned as possible allies/villains for Holland's Peter Parker.
There hasn't been any talk of the X-Men being involved, but if Sink really is playing Jean Grey, it would obviously have major implications for the Marvel Cinematic Universe going forward, most pertinently Avengers: Secret Wars in 2027.
Here's what Holland had to say about the fourth solo Spidey movie in a recent interview.
"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. The third movie was so special in so many ways that we need to make sure we do the right thing."
Who do you think Sink will play in the movie? Be sure to let us know in the comments section.
Spider-Man 4 was recently pushed back a week from July 24, 2026 to July 31, 2026.