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Credit: Marvel StudiosMarvel Studios has finally explained why one upcoming Spider-Man project was removed from the MCU.
Since launching with Iron Man in 2008, the MCU has become a cultural phenomenon, uniting iconic characters like Thor, Captain America, and the Avengers in a richly woven narrative across multiple phases.
It’s a cinematic innovation, blending standalone blockbusters with an overarching storyline that spans time and dimensions – but the idea of those dimensions ever including Spider-Man was merely a pipe dream back in 2008.
Spider-Man’s eventual arrival in the MCU was the result of an unprecedented deal between Sony Pictures, which owns the character’s film rights, and Marvel Studios.
After a lackluster reception to Sony’s The Amazing Spider-Man films (Andrew Garfield, you deserved better), the studios agreed in 2015 to share the character, allowing Tom Holland to portray the character in MCU films from Captain America: Civil War (2016) while Sony retained distribution rights to standalone Spider-Man movies.
The character’s position in the MCU has faced uncertainty in the years since due to disputes over profit-sharing. In 2019, negotiations temporarily broke down altogether, leading to fears that Spider-Man would exit the MCU entirely. Fan outcry and renewed talks eventually led to a new agreement, ensuring Tom Holland’s continued presence in both universes for the time being.
However, one upcoming Spider-Man project takes place entirely outside both universes. Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man—an upcoming animated series premiering on Disney+ in January—features Hudson Thames as the famous web-slinger. The entire show is confirmed to take place in an alternate universe where Norman Osborn becomes the character’s mentor, not Robert Downey Jr.’s Tony Stark.
But that wasn’t always the case. The original plan for the series was to have it take place within the MCU, but it was later revealed that this is no longer the case.
Now, we finally know why Marvel decided to lift Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man from the MCU’s Sacred Timeline and give it its own universe.
Marvel Studios executive Brad Winderbaum recently spoke to Phase Hero, confirming that while they tried to develop the show as a prequel to Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), the team soon realized that this was too restrictive.
“It started out as, ‘Okay it’s Spider-Man’s freshman year, he’s going to be a freshman, can we get away with this being entirely in the MCU?’ and very early on in the development process, we realized how locked in that actually made us,” Winderbaum said.
He added that setting it within MCU canon meant that they “couldn’t really use his rogues gallery, we couldn’t really use his origin. It was not fun, honestly.”
While the show has a lot of similarities to Tom Holland’s take on the character, Winderbaum explained that it “also draws all the way back to Steve Ditko. It’s adjacent to the main continuity but really speaks to what is inherent about the character.”
Fortunately, fans can look forward to more canon Spider-Man adventures in the future. Marvel is currently in the process of developing Spider-Man 4, which will see Tom Holland once again take on the role of Peter Parker for a story set post-Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021).
The latter left the character living a solitary lifestyle, having been forced to make his friends (including girlfriend MJ, played by Holland’s real-life partner Zendaya) forget his true identity for the sake of the universe.
It was recently reported that while Zendaya will appear, her role will be significantly reduced due to the actress’s strict schedule. It’s thought that the film will start production in 2025, with a scheduled theatrical release of July 24, 2026.
Are you more excited for Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man or Spider-Man 4?