SPIDER-MAN 4's Writers Rumored To Have Been Revealed; Pre-WGA Strike Draft Described As "Very Good"

Work was underway on Spider-Man 4 prior to the WGA strike and as well as learning who was reportedly working on that, we now have a small update about how work was progressing. Read on for details...

By JoshWilding - Aug 20, 2023 04:08 AM EST

Filed Under: Spider-Man

When Sony Pictures sent out Tom Holland to promote Spider-Man: No Way Home and Uncharted, the actor repeatedly made it clear he wasn't signed up for any future Spider-Man movies and was considering leaving the role behind.

It felt like a public negotiating tactic and one which seemingly paid off as Holland shared a very positive update on Spider-Man 4 while recently discussing Apple TV+'s The Crowded Room.

Unfortunately, he also confirmed that discussions had been halted as a result of the WGA strike (and since then, SAG-AFTRA members have joined writers on the picket lines). Now, though, we have a small update on where things stand with Spider-Man 4.

According to one reliable insider, Spider-Man: Homecoming, Spider-Man: Far From Home, and Spider-Man: No Way Home writers Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers are returning to the MCU for this next chapter. The draft they wrote before the strikes was supposedly "very good," no great surprise after their past work.

It's previously been rumoured that Spider-Man 4 will serve as a sequel to both No Way Home and Daredevil: Born Again.

In the movie, Peter Parker - now a street-level superhero akin to his comic book counterpart - is expected to team up with the Man Without Fear to take down Mayor Wilson Fisk as the Kingpin of Crime sets out to bring an end to vigilantes.

We're sure Fisk will enlist some superpowered help, though, and this movie could be a good place for the Scorpion to finally make his presence felt. Nothing is confirmed at this point, of course, so we'll just have to wait and see.

Many thanks to Eugene Napadovsky for the banner image above!

Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers wrote a very good draft I hear for Spider-Man 4 pre-strike
— MyTimeToShineHello (@MyTimeToShineH) August 19, 2023

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42 Comments

1 2

tmp3 - 8/20/2023, 4:24 AM

They’re fine but I was hoping for some more exciting talent. It felt like the team from the first trilogy finished the arc they set up in Homecoming and it felt like the perfect transition point for a new creative spin to give the next few films a new flavor. I also don’t really like how low-stakes all of McKenna’s big budget movies always feel.

Arnod - 8/20/2023, 4:50 AM

@tmp3 - No one asked

HOTSHOT - 8/20/2023, 5:06 AM

@tmp3 - I mean Spidey should feel more personal stakes rather than big ones. So I'm on board.

Scarilian - 8/20/2023, 6:23 AM

@tmp3 -
Yeah, the low stakes and yet another supporting 'hero' just make it feel like this version of Spider-man cannot stand on his own.

ObserverIO - 8/20/2023, 6:26 AM

@tmp3 - First movie was far better written than the next two. That third one felt like it was written on the beach in one lazy afternoon.

TCronson - 8/20/2023, 6:30 AM

@ObserverIO - they are all poorly written.

HOTSHOT - 8/20/2023, 7:27 AM

@Scarilian - I mean he does do the majority of the work in his own film. It's not like the supporting cast hurts in any way.

HOTSHOT - 8/20/2023, 7:27 AM

@TCronson - No u

HOTSHOT - 8/20/2023, 7:28 AM

@ObserverIO - I like the script of the third one. It gets Spidey right. The tone shift works without being glaring. There is amazing dialogue (way better than what the MCU has usually given us) and while there's a few things that are like "wait that's a stretch", it works well imo

ObserverIO - 8/20/2023, 8:01 AM

@HOTSHOT - "Scooby Doo this shit" is not amazing dialogue. But yes, by the third one they seemed to get who Spider-Man is. Kinda. I mean they obviously don't get that he uses his gifts to fight crime because his irresponsible actions once led to the death of a close family member, but they seem to get his personality right at least. It probably helped that they would have seen Into the Spiderverse at this point.

TCronson - 8/20/2023, 9:10 AM

@ObserverIO - it's terrible dialogue in fact.

HOTSHOT - 8/20/2023, 9:18 AM

@ObserverIO - It's the kind of goofy dialogue I'd read in anything from the Lee/Ditko era tbh. And we're just gonna ignore stuff like Goblin's monologues, the writing for all three Peters, the fact that this film wrote the first ever conflict where the audience is left to interpret what's the responsible thing to do?

Idk man. That's miles beyond what an MCU flick was expected to give.

ObserverIO - 8/20/2023, 9:41 AM

@HOTSHOT - But Lee's dialogue actually worked, despite being goofy. And Goblin's monologues were great but that was down to Willem Dafoe's performance more than the writing. The moral conflict was good, but to say it was the first ever is overselling it.

HOTSHOT - 8/20/2023, 10:20 AM

@ObserverIO - It's subjective to say whether or not it worked. It worked for me and apparently others since the film is extremely well-received. So I'd say the writers do get some credit for nailing the tone of Spider-Man.

The Goblin dialogue worked greatly because it was extremely well-written. Dafoe killed it of course, but the writing really helped.

It was the first one in a Spidey flick I mean. Most of these films have a very clear cut right and wrong answer of what's responsible. This film blurred that by placing the values Peter was instilled with by the person who raised him against the overall good. Leaving it up to us to decide what was right. That's something no other Spidey film really covered so kudos for that.

ObserverIO - 8/20/2023, 3:07 PM

@HOTSHOT - I guess so. But I don't think the movie would have been as successful if the characters from other universes were played by nobodies and had no ties to previous films. They put on a good show, but had that show been a random multiverse movie, I don't think it would have had the same reception. Of all the things that made the movie a phenomenon, I think the script is pretty low on the list. Direction too.

HOTSHOT - 8/21/2023, 3:44 AM

@ObserverIO - I mean movies like MoM, Space Jam 2, and Ready Player One have already established that nostalgia alone isn't enough to win over audiences. You've gotta write characters well. This film did that.

I actually love the script and direction in this film. Granted Jon Watts is still no Sam Raimi, but his style that I dug from his indie films was much more prominent in this film. A lot more effort was put into staging and framing.

Basically if the script and directing weren't good, the film would've just been another Ready Player One.

ObserverIO - 8/21/2023, 4:18 AM

@HOTSHOT - Yeah, there is a bad way to do it and a good way to do it and they did not drop the ball at all. They could've screwed it up but they didn't. They had the audience eating out of the palm of their hand, myself included, and really knew what we wanted and how to deliver it to us. The movie does really work and doesn't even come close to being a soulless cash grab.

So there is that.

HOTSHOT - 8/21/2023, 8:48 AM

@ObserverIO - Agreed. Which is why I'm totally on board with these writers coming back so long as they're able to continue this momentum (without the cameos ofc)

Arnod - 8/20/2023, 4:50 AM

Will also be woke. HAHA

HOTSHOT - 8/20/2023, 5:05 AM

@Arnod - Elaborate

Fogs - 8/20/2023, 8:57 AM

@HOTSHOT - stop feeding it

newhire13 - 8/20/2023, 10:30 AM

@Arnod - I bet saying that and patting yourself on the back is gonna be the highlight of your day

HOTSHOT - 8/20/2023, 5:06 AM

I'm glad. They understand Spider-Man better than a lot of MCU writers understand the characters they're hired to write. Can't wait to see what they show us next.

TCronson - 8/20/2023, 6:29 AM

@HOTSHOT - they understand Spider-Man so much he's Spider-Man mostly in name only. But they are just hired hands, they don't make any decisions here, Fiege and Sony do.

HOTSHOT - 8/20/2023, 7:25 AM

@TCronson - He's Spider-Man as I've known him both the Ultimate comics as well as the Lee/Ditko run. So no.

They do write the scripts so they do make decisions.

pitbull76 - 8/20/2023, 8:35 AM

@TCronson - Just my opinion but I think Holland's Spider-man is the perfect version a young actor actually portraying a young Spider-man has grown into a more mature version who has learned from past mistakes.Not to say I didn't like Toby's or Andrew's version just Tom's is the one I personally think nailes the part perfectly the Peter Parker side and the Spider-man side just my opinion though.

TCronson - 8/20/2023, 9:09 AM

@HOTSHOT - then we must've known completely different Spider-Mans. The one I know was nothing like Holland's one at all.

They write strictly they are told to write, their decisions are limited to that.

TCronson - 8/20/2023, 9:12 AM

@pitbull76 - I disagree, but I respect your opinion. My problem with MCU version has less to do with Holland and more to do with everything else.

HOTSHOT - 8/20/2023, 9:16 AM

@TCronson - As someone who's been an avid reader of all his books from the Lee/Ditko era onwards, he's very much like the Spider-Man I read about, and I'm more than willing to provide source material evidence that proves it.

Writers have to follow guidelines of the story. Yes. However, they also come up with the dialogue and how plot beats work. Aka the things I like about these films.

HOTSHOT - 8/20/2023, 9:18 AM

@TCronson - I don't mind if others don't enjoy the MCU version. I just feel the hatred he gets is a bit over the top vitriolic and requires people to misrepresent what happens in these movies.

HOTSHOT - 8/20/2023, 9:21 AM

@pitbull76 - Agreed. Tom's Spidey is the first one who feels like

1. An actual kid.
2. Is fleshed out as much as Peter was in the comics.
3. Has dual identities that feel equally important, instead of just Peter Parker being the main important thing.

That alone puts him miles ahead of Tobey and Andrew's versions. They capture what was missing from the previous that I liked about Spidey from the comics.

Skestra - 8/20/2023, 9:31 AM

@HOTSHOT @TCronson @pitbull76 - The thoughtful, civil discussion going on here is so refreshing to read. Thank you all!

Scarilian - 8/20/2023, 5:31 AM

I'd rather have Scorpion and the Black Suit Saga - have Scorpion/Mac Gargan become Venom.

Though admittedly at this stage, Tom Holland's Spider-man does not interest me. I'd rather see Tobey or Andrew return, they have much more potential as characters and are better acted.

ChrisRed - 8/20/2023, 7:03 AM

@Scarilian - Agreed, Scorpion is an loose thread that never went anywhere. They need to use him.

Also like the old Spidey’s a lot more that the Holland one, who's very annoying imo.

ChrisRed - 8/20/2023, 7:05 AM

Fisk could bring in Scorpion (finally) and maybe the Spider-Slayers.

That'd be cool.

OptimusCrime - 8/20/2023, 8:46 AM

Can anyone hit me up with a link to that thumbail image?

RedSheep - 8/20/2023, 12:34 PM

Is the Marvel Studios mandate of including a hero from the MCU still active? I really don't want Daredevil. That role could easily go to someone like Black Cat or Prowler.

Waifuslayer - 8/20/2023, 12:39 PM

I can't believe how shit the MCU Spider-Man movies have been. If there was one character I thought they'd get right, it was him.

Hope the strike lasts forever.