With so many conflicting reports and rumors relating to Spider-Man 4 doing the rounds over the past few weeks, it's difficult to get a read on exactly what's going on with the project, but several different sources have claimed that - for whatever reason - the story still hasn't come together.
The script is believed to be undergoing a major overhaul, possibly due to differences of opinion between star Tom Holland and Marvel Studios chief Kevin Feige, and last we heard, the movie was still a long way from starting production because there isn’t a finalized shooting draft yet.
Scooper Daniel Richtman has now shared an update, and he believes that the script is still being worked on. He also claims that the most recent version of the story - prior to the rewrites - included two classic Spidey villains in Shocker and Scorpion.
Both of these characters have appeared in previous Spider-Man films, with Michael Mando playing a pre-supervillain Mac Gargan and Bokeem Woodbine's Herman Schultz suiting-up as Shocker in Homecoming.
Neither of these guys have been seen since, so we're not sure if the same actors would have returned, or new takes on Spidey's foes would have been introduced.
The movie has a release date of July 24, 2026, with filming reportedly scheduled to get underway around August of this year. There's still time to ensure that these deadlines are met, but delays are possible (Holland also has Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey to shoot next year, which could result in scheduling conflicts).
After reported disagreements about the best way to proceed, we've heard that Marvel Studios (Feige) and Sony Pictures (Tom Rothman) had settled on a mostly grounded story with some Multiversal elements, though the movie was still being described as an "Avengers-level event" up until very recently.
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."
It seems they are still trying to figure out what "the right thing" is, but it certainly sounds like a lot of different ideas have been considered. If every rumor was to be believed, Spider-Man 4 will see Holland, Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield's wall-crawlers join forces with Venom, Ghost Rider, Black Cat, Daredevil and The Punisher to face off against Mephisto, Vulture, Knull, and an army of Symbiotes.
Hopefully, those involved with bringing Spidey 4 to the screen will come up with ideas that suit everyone and the project won't be hit with any significant setbacks.