Where do you go with Spider-Man 4 once you've wiped the world of any memories of the man behind their friendly neighbourhood superhero? Well, anywhere!
The last film to hit our screens was 2021's box office juggernaut Spider-Man: No Way Home, which reunited seemingly every character who's ever appeared in the comic book character's movie lifespan for an epic multiverse battle for the ages. After defeating interdimensional villains holding some more-than personal grudges (with the help of Andrew Garfield and Tobey Maguire's iterations of Spider-Men), Tom Holland's Peter Parker is left alone, having sacrificed his own connection to everyone in the world by erasing himself from history.
With time ticking on since No Way Home, fans are getting itchy fingers waiting for any news about when, where, how or even if we'll pick up Peter Parker's story in the future. Here's everything we know about his next adventure.
Will Tom Holland return for Spider-Man 4?
Well, isn't that the huge question on everyone's lips? You can't have Spider-Man without Spider-Man, or, at least, you can't have this iteration of Spider-Man without him. Holland has remained a steady level of shtum about whether he plans to don the spidey suit again in the future, especially as the last film could be read as a neat wrapping up of his story.
In interviews immediately following the release, Holland hinted that his future with the franchise is unsure, saying to Deadline “There definitely was a sense for me, as an actor, that this was the last time that I could potentially don the suit, so a lot of that emotion came from the act of saying goodbye, which is one of the biggest themes throughout this film”. He also said in an interview with GQ: "If I'm playing Spider-Man after I'm 30, I've done something wrong". Granted he's only 27 now, but time comes at you real fast.
For now, at least, Holland is still keeping the door open. At a recent press conference, he said “All I can say is that we have been actively engaging in conversations about what it could potentially look like for a fourth rendition of my character." He then added that that return is dependent solely on the story being told. “Whether or not we can find a way to do justice to the character is another thing. I feel very protective over Spider-Man. I feel very, very lucky that we were able to work on a franchise that got better with each movie, that got more successful with each movie, which I think is really rare, and I want to protect his legacy. So, I won’t make another one for the sake of making another one. It will have to be worth the while of the character.”
"I would love to tell another story, but I’ll only tell it if we can find the right one.”
There's also always the possibility that Holland's Spider-Man could return, but just in a smaller capacity – essentially handing over the spidey torch to someone else. Perhaps he could usher in the long-teased introduction of Miles Morales as the next iteration of Spider-Man? He of course already exists in the Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse world, and his existence in this universe has been littered throughout the franchise. We first saw it in Far From Home by Donald Glover (a former popular fancast for the role of Miles Morales in his Community days) mentioning a nephew he has in the city, then again in No Way Home, when Jamie Foxx's Electro comments “there's got to be a Black Spider-Man out there somewhere”, referencing a multiverse which now opens the doors for endless possibilities.
What will Spider-Man 4 be about?
The big question! Speaking with Entertainment Weekly, Marvel boss Kevin Feige said last year “All I will say is that we have the story,” he said. “We have big ideas for that, and our writers are just putting pen to paper now.” Any memories or connection to Peter Parker have been erased from the world entirely thanks to a spell by Doctor Strange, but Spider-Man still lives on. So what does this mean? Well, we don't actually know yet. Any plot details about the next film are being kept tightly under wraps, but according to “nerdy news” blog site The Cosmic Circus, we might be picking up Peter Parker's story once again in the aftermath of Marvel's long-awaited Daredevil: Born Again series.
The blind vigilante (played, to the excitement of fans, again by Charlie Cox) will be making his return to the MCU in the series that was initially planned for a 2024 release before some huge creative changes that leave its release in the balance. The series will re-introduce the character after Netflix's three-season series, which ran from 2015 to 2018. In an interview with Entertainment Tonight, Cox said this series is being approached as an entirely new iteration of the hero, adding "Kevin [Feige] has been very clear about it being season 1, not a season 4. It's a whole new deal."
But what does this mean for Spider-Man? Well, Cox's Matt Murdock appeared briefly in No Way Home as legal counsel hired by Marissa Tomei's ill-fated Aunt May. Parker and Murdock clearly now have a pre-existing relationship, although how much of that is salvageable after Doctor Strange's big old memory wipe will remain to be seen. But seeing as Spider-Man 4 is rumoured to take place after the events of the Disney+ series (which will potentially re-introduce classic characters like Bullseye and Elektra), perhaps there'll be some fallout needing to be handled by a fellow friendly neighbourhood superhero.
There's also the post-credit scene from Sony's Venom: Let There Be Carnage to consider, where Tom Hardy's Eddie Brock and his classic Spider-Man villain are transported to the MCU as part of Doctor Strange's multiverse mayhem. Although they end up back in their own universe at the end, a little bit of the symbiote is left behind. Will we finally see another Spider-Man taken over by Venom?
When will Spider-Man 4 be released?
Considering we're still broadly speaking in hypotheticals about whether Tom Holland will even be coming back for another film, it's probably safe to bet that it will be a long while before we see a fourth outing for Spider-Man. With it also being attached, supposedly, to Daredevil: Born Again, the release date also falls into question. Daredevil had been due to be released this year, but a massive creative overhaul means it's getting entirely reworked. Perhaps Tom Holland will have hit 30 by the time we get any solid news on this one.
Will any other familiar faces return for Spider-Man 4?
As we said, Sony boss Tom Rothman is keen to bring back “the whole gang”, meaning, we assume, Zendaya and Jacob Batalon, who finish No Way Home unable to remember their best friend Peter Parker. Elsewhere, now that the multiverse has lent possibilities to pretty much anything, eyes are already on whether our other Spider-Men, Andrew Garfield and Tobey Maguire, will come back too. After breaking the multiverse and the internet with their return, obviously, fans want more. It's unlikely though, as their story wraps up neatly in No Way Home, although in an interview with the Happy Sad Confused podcast, Andrew Garfield admitted “I would love to continue working with Tobey and with Tom. I think that kind of three-brother dynamic is so juicy. To be honest, man, I’m gonna just honestly say I’m so happy and satisfied and grateful to be a part of this”. Still, when the multiverse is at your fingertips, anything can happen!
