Credit: Sony Pictures/Marvel StudiosThe story of Peter Parker, young Queens native, and the enduring lesson that “with great power comes great responsibility” is by now well-known. Various actors have brought New York City’s beloved Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man to life on screen, drawing from the rich Marvel Comics legacy created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko.
Related: After ‘Spider-Man’ Project Scrapped by Sony, Next ‘Spider-Man’ Will Be the Last
Spider-Man’s cinematic journey began with Tobey Maguire’s portrayal in Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy, which ran from 2002 to 2007 — and may see a revival soon. Andrew Garfield then took on the role in The Amazing Spider-Man series, starting in 2012 and continuing with The Amazing Spider-Man 2 in 2014.
Tom Holland is the latest actor to play Peter Parker, encountering reimagined versions of classic characters like Aunt May, MJ, and perhaps somewhere in the future, Harry Osborn and Wilson Fisk/Kingpin. Holland first appeared in Marvel Studios’ MCU with Captain America: Civil War (2016) and later starred in the solo film Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017).
With Robert Downey Jr.’s Iron Man/Tony Stark and Chris Evans’ Captain America/Steve Rogers stepping down, the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) has embarked on a new chapter known as the Multiverse Saga.
Under Kevin Feige’s leadership, the MCU has forged a unique collaboration with Sony, facilitated by its parent company, The Walt Disney Company, now bringing these variants of Spider-Man together (with respective franchise villains joining in the fray like the Willem Dafoe’s Green Goblin/Norman Osborn and Alfred Molina’s Doctor Octopus/Doc Ock) in 2021’s Spider-Man: No Way Home to great success.
Now, the fourth Spider-Man franchise movie within the MCU is in a somewhat tentative state, with a reported release date now scrapped for something much, much later.
Spider-Man 4 in Production Limbo?
The much-anticipated Spider-Man 4 will now be set between the two upcoming Avengers films, the newly announced Avengers: Doomsday (previously Avengers: The Kang Dynasty) and Avengers: Secret Wars.
Insider Daniel Richtman (@DanielRPK) relayed this news recently, additionally confirming that the Spider-Man 4 filming — originally scheduled to begin in September of this year — has instead been pushed back to next year. The fourth Spider-Man movie will, therefore, have its original 2025 release date scrapped in favor of a 2026 release instead.
X/Twitter account Rejected Scooper shared the news that Richtman, now updating his earlier report on Spidey 4, is reporting that this new MCU line-up and release change also indicates a shift in the general story of Spider-Man 4 to focus more heavily on the Multiverse (following Deadpool & Wolverine‘s success), despite earlier reports indicating that Disney and Marvel were keen on focusing on more grounded, self-contained stories:
‘SPIDER-MAN 4’ Will Most Likely Touch On The Multiverse
“As expected, Spider-Man 4 will now film next year, and is slated to release on July 2026 between Doomsday and Secret Wars, meaning that yes, this is very likely gonna be another multiverse movie”
Via:(@DanielRPK)
‘SPIDER-MAN 4’ Will Most Likely Touch On The Multiverse
“As expected, Spider-Man 4 will now film next year, and is slated to release on July 2026 between Doomsday and Secret Wars, meaning that yes, this is very likely gonna be another multiverse movie”
Via:(@DanielRPK) pic.twitter.com/eLI9zIxXNZ
— Rejected Scooper (@rejectedscooper) August 25, 2024
In particular, rumors and insider reports previously indicated a more “street-level” Spider-Man from Holland, meant to follow the incoming Daredevil: Born Again Disney+ (Disney Plus) show teeing up New York’s anti-vigilante Big Bad, Mayor Wilson Fisk, AKA the Kingpin (Vincent D’Onofrio).
It definitely seems like Sony’s reported “intense” back-and-forth with and pressuring of Disney to make Spider-Man 4 a more Multiverse-centered story like No Way Home has worked. And if the overwhelming success of the Multiverse-centric Deadpool & Wolverine from earlier this summer is any indication, it seems like the bigwigs at Sony and Disney think Marvel’s universe-crossing storyline has potential yet.
Are you excited for Spider-Man 4? What do you think of these reported changes? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!