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Credit: Marvel StudiosKevin Feige’s Marvel Cinematic Universe was given a new lease of life this year following the record-breaking success of Deadpool & Wolverine (2024). The third Deadpool movie, teamed with popular shows like X-Men ’97 and Agatha All Along on Disney+, saw interest in the 16-year-old franchise rekindled.
Now, 2025 and beyond has a lot in store for the major Disney brand and a chunk of it will be dedicated to everyone’s favorite New York wallcrawler.
Spider-Man 4 Update: What Is “Blue Oasis”?
One of the key highlights of the MCU’s post-Avengers: Endgame (2019) era was Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021). The third movie in Jon Watts’ Spidey origin series was a box office hit and became a pop culture phenomenon thanks to the return of Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield to the Peter Parker role alongside the MCU’s Tom Holland.
Since No Way Home, the discourse has been rampant about whether Spider-Man 4 would be happening.
At one point, Tom Holland said he wanted to pass the mantle along, but the Hollywood star confirmed in 2023 that talks had happened, presumably with Marvel Studios, Sony Pictures, and Amy Pascal—the producers of the Spider-Man films—before being shut down in response to the WGA and SAG-AFTRA labor strikes.
In late October 2024, Tom Holland confirmed to Jimmy Fallon while on The Tonight Show that Spider-Man 4 was officially happening.
The studios later shared that it would be landing in theaters on July 24, 2026. Directed by Destin Daniel Cretton, who previously helmed Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021), Spider-Man 4 will drop two months after Phase Six’s Avengers: Doomsday (2026).
Information on the direction of this next Spider-Man chapter has been scarce, but new information has alluded to who might be involved in the upcoming production. According to The Cosmic Circus, Spider-Man 4 is currently under the working title “Blue Oasis,” which to some might mean nothing but to more ardent Marvel Comics fans, could signal the involvement of Gwen Stacy.
“‘Spider-Man: Blue’ was a comic written by Jeph Loeb in 2002 that ran for six issues. The story is set on Valentine’s Day and presents a Spider-Man who feels “blue” or depressed as he sits atop the Brooklyn Bridge,” the outlet writes. “The story retells how Peter Parker and Gwen Stacy first met and fell in love in a beautifully told story that melts even the coldest of hearts.”
The correlation between “Blue Oasis” and the blue color used on Loeb’s comic book run is an exciting development for Spider-Man fans. The arrival of Gwen Stacy could also suggest that MJ (Zendaya) never regains her memories of Peter Parker after the latter had Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) make everyone forget who he was in the final moments of No Way Home.
In the live-action universe, Gwen Stacy has already been featured in both Sam Raimi’s original trilogy and Marc Webb’s 2014 The Amazing Spider-Man and its sequel The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2016). In the former, Bryce Dallas Howard took on the role of Gwen, while Emma Stone played the character opposite Andrew Garfield in Webb’s movies.
The inclusion of a major player like Gwen Stacy feels like the natural next step for the MCU’s Spider-Man franchise. If the “Blue Oasis” correlation to “Spider-Man: Blue” checks out, Zendaya’s MJ may also be replaced with a new love interest.
This may also tie into the report that Euphoria star Sydney Sweeney is set to appear in the fourth movie, although that specific rumor suggests Sweeney will be playing Felicia Hardy, AKA Black Cat, instead.
Spider-Man 4 isn’t the only new addition to the MCU’s Spidey canon, as, in January, Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man will officially begin airing on Disney+.
Tom Holland Recast for Upcoming Spider-Man Project
In November 2021, not long after Marvel Studios debuted its first official animated series, What If…? on Disney+, the studio shared that Spider-Man: Freshman Year was in development for the streaming service. Now known as Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, the upcoming animated series is created by Jeff Trammell, who also serves as head writer, with the directing team led by Mel Zwyer.
The original cast announcement included Charlie Cox reprising his role as Matt Murdock/Daredevil before a production filing confirmed that Hudson Thames would once again replace Tom Holland as the popular New York web-slinger.
Thames previously played the Peter Parker role in 2021’s What If…? series. Thames and Cox will also be joined by Eugene Byrd as Lonnie Lincoln, Grace Song as Nico Minoru, Hugh Dancy as Otto Octavius, Kari Wahlgren as May Parker, Zeno Robinson as Harry Osborn, and Paul F. Tompkins as Bentley Whittman.
Related: Marvel Recasts Doctor Doom in the MCU, New Actor Confirmed
The premise of Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man centers around an alternate timeline where, instead of Tony Stark becoming Peter Parker’s mentor, it is Norman Osborn. It was revealed in August this year that Academy Award-nominee Colman Domingo would be voicing the role of Norman Osborn in the Disney+ series.
In 2022, Marvel’s Head of Streaming, Television, and Animation Brad Winderbaum confirmed what viewers can expect from Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man (then called Spider-Man: Freshman Year).
“Well, like we said, in the panel, it follows the pattern that you see in [Captain America: Civil War],” Winderbaum told ComicBook‘s Brandon Davis in July 2022. “Down to Peter getting the broken Blu-ray player from the trash, and he walks into his department for the famous moment where Tony Stark is waiting for him to offer him the Stark internship and take him to Berlin.”
“But because of things that happen in the Multiverse because of new, random occurrences, it’s not Tony Stark who’s waiting for him there,” the Marvel executive added. “It’s Norman Osborn and that sends his life in an unexpected trajectory that collides him with many unexpected characters in the Marvel universe.”
Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man is just one of six TV shows releasing on Disney+ next year. In a surprise turn of events, considering Disney CEO Bob Iger’s previous remarks that the Marvel Disney+ offering would be limited to no more than two projects per year, the studio will release six from January right through December.
Following Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man‘s January 29 release, Daredevil: Born Again will drop on March 4, Ironheart on June 24, Eyes of Wakanda on August 6, Marvel Zombies on October 3, and Wonder Man in December.
The caveat to this is that the Spider-Man series, Eyes of Wakanda, and Marvel Zombies all fall under Marvel Animation, while Wonder Man is being pitched as a Marvel Spotlight series–the brand of shows, like Echo, that can exist separately outside of the franchise while still being part of it.
Related: Fate of Elizabeth Olsen’s Scarlet Witch Quietly Confirmed by Marvel
Therefore, it is expected that Daredevil: Born Again and Ironheart will be the more crucial shows to consume if audiences want to stay tuned into the overarching MCU narrative, which so far stretches up to 2027’s Avengers: Secret Wars. That said, the studio recently confirmed three new movies for 2028, confirming that the MCU is far from over even 20 years on.
How do you feel about these Spider-Man franchise updates? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments down below!