Bokeem Woodbine played a supporting role in Spider-Man: Homecoming as secondary villain, Herman Schultz, but we haven't seen the character since he was defeated by Tom Holland's wall-crawler (with a little help from Ned Leeds).
We didn't really expect Shocker to show up in the MCU again, but Woodbine has now hinted at his return in a future project.
While speaking to The Direct at the SXSW premiere of Government Cheese, the actor was asked what became of Schultz after the events of Homecoming.
"That's a very good question. I'm wondering the same. But I get a feeling it might not be the last time you see the Shocker."
Woodbine was also asked if there was ever any talk of him donning a more comic-accurate costume.
"We discussed it," he reveals. "It wasn't right or appropriate for that first one. But who knows, down the line, [we can get] a little bit closer to the original suit. We never wanted to cover his face because I asked that specifically. And they were like, 'No, you act with your face. So we want to be able to see you.'"
We're not sure when or where Shocker could reappear, but a recent rumor claimed that both Shocker and Scorpion (Michael Mando) featured in the Spider-Man 4 script prior to that reported rewrite, so there's a chance they could still appear.
Another recent rumour indicated that Spider-Man 4 is basically being developed as "a direct sequel" to Avengers: Doomsday that will bridge the gap between the 2026 film and 2027's Avengers: Secret Wars. We have heard that Holland's Peter Parker is going to have a major role in Doomsday, so Spider-Man 4 serving as a follow-up (to at least some extent) would make sense.
Though Spidey didn't feature in the recent MCU concept art that found its way online, the images did lead to some intriguing theories relating to the iconic hero's role in all three films mentioned above.
The artwork seemed to confirm that we will indeed be heading to Battleworld, a medieval-like land ruled by Robert Downey Jr.'s Doctor Doom and a number of Avengers characters who have no memory of their previous lives. In No Way Home, Doctor Strange cast a spell that erased Peter Parker from the minds of everyone he knew, and some believe this will result in Spider-Man emerging as the only character free of Dooms' control, potentially making him an Anchor Being (the concept introduced in Deadpool and Wolverine) tasked with saving the rest of Earth's Mightiest Heroes and the Multiverse itself.
Needing help with his mission, Parker could turn to some old friends (Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield's Spideys) and assemble a team made up of other Multiverse variants such as Ghost Rider (Nicolas Cage), Wolverine (Hugh Jackman), etc.
This is just a theory, but it could go some way towards explaining all of those crazy rumors we've been hearing.
Spider-Man 4 was recently pushed back a week from July 24, 2026 to July 31, 2026.