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Spider-Man 4, the fourth installment in the MCU's Spider-Man franchise, and the reported beginning of a new trilogy is rumored to be in an advanced stage of pre-production.
Head honcho of Marvel Studios Kevin Feige, only confirmed the development of the fourth film so as not to stir up another fan turmoil over Spider-Man's possible exit from the MCU. Feige is known for keeping his upcoming projects and plot details incredibly secretive.
In August-September 2019, fans were shocked when Spider-Man briefly left the MCU. This happened after Sony Pictures, who hold the character's live-action theatrical rights and Marvel were unable to work out a deal following their last one that ended with Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019).
Spider-Man 4 rumored to be in an advanced stage of pre-production
It is rumored that Sony wants Spider-Man 4 to be out by 2024 at the latest. A new deal is also rumored to be in the works and includes six appearances from the webslinger. It also includes Spider-Man 4 and likely Avengers: The Kang Dynasty (2025) and Avengers: Secret Wars (2026).
The latter will possibly start a Symbiote Spider-Man arc for him, much like the comics where Secret Wars was when Spider-Man encountered the infamous alien.
The mid-credits scene of No Way Home already teased Spider-Man eventually meeting the Venom Symbiote. This happened after a piece of it was left behind in the MCU following Eddie Brock and Venom being sent back to their native universe (Sony's Spider-Man Universe). They were sent back by Doctor Strange's second memory spell in the film's climax.
What can fans expect from the upcoming film?
1) A street-level storyline
In the MCU, the only film that came close to or stayed street-level was Spider-Man: Homecoming. Meanwhile, Far From Home was a globe-trotting adventure that somewhat touched intergalactic until it was revealed to be a fake-out and No Way Home was a multiversal narrative.
With everyone, including his love interest Michelle Jones, friend Ned Leeds and the Avengers, or what is left of the group, having forgotten his civilian persona, Peter is all alone with only Spider-Man left.
No more multiversal shenanigans or galaxy-savings, at least until Avengers: The Kang Dynasty or Avengers: Secret Wars, Spider-Man 4 will mark a new chapter for the character by being solely street-level.
So expect to see Spider-Man in Spider-Man 4 only dealing with smaller-level thugs and local crime-bosses. He might even be seen stopping robberies and getting involved in gang wars, where each crime-lord determines who will rule New York's underworld.
2) A possible Daredevil team-up
Fans of Netflix's Daredevil were ecstatic when the actor who portrayed Daredevil, Charlie Cox, returned as his alter-ego, Matt Murdock. While he had an explosive cameo in No Way Home as Peter Parker's lawyer, he made a complete appearance as the vigilante in the penultimate episode of She-Hulk: Attorney at Law (2022).
Spider-Man 4 is rumored to be dealing with the aftermath of Daredevil's Disney+ revival series Daredevil: Born Again (2024). Thus, it is entirely possible that the character will make an appearance and team up with Holland's Spider-Man. It will also be quite interesting to see if the characters recognize each other after finding out their secret identities, given that Murdock, like everyone else, was also affected by Strange's spell.
3) Kingpin as the possible primary villain
Much like Cox, Vincent D'Onofrio's return as Kingpin in Hawkeye's last two episodes broke the internet. However, fans were disappointed with the way his character was handled in the last episode. Fans weren't too keen about his massive power-up compared to his Netflix portrayal and how he was seemingly disposed off by being shot in the head by his adoptive daughter Echo.
With Echo (2023) and Daredevil: Born Again confirming that he is alive and with the latter supposedly tying into the events of Spider-Man 4, Kingpin could be the one pulling the strings in the film.
Although he is Daredevil's archenemy in the comics, he first appeared as Spider-Man's adversary. The comics, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse and the Spider-Man game on PlayStation 4 & 5 and PC were the ones that depicted their rivalry.
4) A certain cat-thief could make an appearance
Spider-Man's third major love interest in the comics after Mary Jane and Gwen Stacy is Felicia Hardy (Black Cat). The character made an appearance as her alter-ego in Sony's The Amazing Spider-Man 2, played by Felicity Jones. She was supposed to don the iconic mantle in a future installment until the franchise was killed, thanks to the overwhelming negative reception the second film got.
Spider-Man 4, could however serve as the appropriate vehicle to introduce the character, now that MJ does not remember Peter. What makes Black Cat a unique love interest is that she only loves Spider-Man and not Peter Parker.
Spider-Man 4 could tackle this aspect, thanks to the final line in No Way Home's screenplay:
"Peter Parker is no more, but Spider-Man lives on."
5) Peter Parker working for the Daily Bugle
With Peter having rented a cheap apartment at the end of Spider-Man: No Way Home, he will no doubt have to pay the bills. He needs a decently-paying job and what better a place than the Daily Bugle, even though it is run by Spider-Man's harshest critic, J. Jonah Jameson.
In the comics, the Daily Bugle is a newspaper publication that Peter works for as a freelance photographer. He takes pictures of himself as Spider-Man to help Aunt May out financially following the death of his Uncle Ben.
In the MCU, however, the Daily Bugle is a controversial news website like InfoWars owned by Alex Jones, who the MCU's Jameson is partially based off of.
It will be interesting to see what kind of job Peter gets in the MCU, whether as a photographer, like in mainstream comics, or a webmaster like in Ultimate Marvel.
It would also be interesting to see Peter and Jameson's relationship, with Peter knowing the former very well for adding to his troubles with gaslit reporting. As Jameson would no longer know who Spider-Man is under the mask, it will make for an interesting dynamic to watch.
What are you expecting to see in Spider-Man 4? let us know down in the comments.
