We are fast approaching the 1st anniversary of the release of Spider-Man: No Way Home in theaters. The film pitted Spider-Man in a story that fans could only ever have dreamt of. Tom Holland starred in a high-stakes epic story filled with mystic multiversal hijinks, which featured the return of multiple iconic villains from Spidey’s former filmography and a live-action Spider-Verse with Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield in their iconic Spider roles.
All the while, the film also managed to keep itself grounded by balancing it with elements of Peter’s “normal” life and how his secret identity ultimately affected everyone who ever cared about him, some more than others. Overall, his first trilogy of films served as a great origin story for our MCU Peter Parker. This ultimately begs the question, what does Spider-Man’s future in the MCU look like?
Peter Parker (Tom Holland)
When we last saw Tom Holland‘s Peter Parker, everyone he had ever loved was either gone or had had their mind erased by Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) to save the Multiverse from complete upheaval. So, to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Peter Parker never existed. But Spider-Man lives on.
How do we pick up Peter’s story from here? Well, we first have to see where Peter Parker will reappear within the MCU timeline. From what we are being told, his next MCU appearance will be sooner rather than later. According to one of our sources, Spider-Man’s next solo MCU adventure will premiere on July 12th, 2024.
This would place Spider-Man 4 near the end of Phase 5. Additionally, it will release just two weeks prior to the release of another MCU film, Thunderbolts. It is expected for Marvel to work out their upcoming MCU schedule, as there are likely to be a number of shifts in the Phase 5 timeline.
Now, what story could the upcoming installment of Spider-Man tell? For Spider-Man 4, the story will more likely than not have our hero handle a street-level scenario before rising to the challenge of an Avengers-level threat.
This street-level story, we’re being told, may actually handle the aftermath of Daredevil: Born Again. How the Disney+ show will play a role in the upcoming film, remains to be seen.
Spider-Man’s future: the symbiote factor
Will Peter finally obtain the symbiote suit from the piece of Venom that remained in the MCU at the end of Spider-Man: No Way Home? Survey says… Not just yet.
While the idea for this trilogy is to introduce the Symbiote into Peter Parker’s life, it is very likely Marvel will be seeking to go the comic-accurate route and give Peter his suit at some point during one of the two upcoming Avengers Films.
This would mean that while the Symbiote will be introduced during Phase 6 of the MCU, Peter Parker may not have his own solo outing in the suit until Phase 7 after the Multiverse Saga has ended. But he’s not the only Spider-Man set to make waves in upcoming projects.
Spider-Man’s future: animated MCU Spider-Man stories
Aside from appearing in live-action projects, Marvel Studios also has a number of animated Spider-Man projects coming out in the coming years. There is the highly anticipated Spider-Man: Freshman Year series as well as the upcoming Marvel Zombies project.
Spider-Man: Freshman Year is a story set to take place in an alternate universe. The show will essentially pose as an extended What If…? scenario and take a new spin on Spider-Man’s origin story.
The series has already greenlit a 2nd season to the animated series, titled Spider-Man: Sophomore Year. It is expected Marvel will announce subsequent series that’ll cover Junior Year and Senior Year.
Additionally, there’s also the upcoming Marvel Zombies project that will tie into the Marvel Zombies episode of the first season of What If…? In that episode, one of the survivors was Zombie Hunter Spider-Man, so we can expect him to make an appearance in the upcoming project as well. Speaking of animated Spider-Men…
Miles Morales & Madame Web
Sony is currently hard at work with the next installment of their Spider-Verse adventure, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. The film features the return of Miles Morales, as he embarks on an epic adventure across the Multiverse.
He’ll join the likes of Spider-Gwen and Spider-Man 2099 to take on a new threat to the Web of Life and Destiny. The film stars Shameik Moore, Hailee Steinfeld, and Oscar Issac, set for release on June 2, 2023.
Another very interesting upcoming film to keep an eye on is Madame Web. The film will introduce new Spider-themed heroes such as Cassandra Webb, Julia Carpenter, Anya Corazon, and Mattie Franklin. As we’ve previously reported, Dakota Johnson, Sydney Sweeney, Isabela Merced, and Celeste O’Connor will portray these roles, respectively.
Exclusive: Madame Web Cast/Characters Confirmed!
Additionally, Emma Roberts is portraying Mary Parker, Peter Parker’s mother. Adam Scott will be portraying Peter’s uncle Ben Parker in the upcoming film. With all that in mind, it appears that the story of the film will feature these spider-heroes protecting a pregnant Mary Parker on a mission to save the Multiverse as they know it. And since we’re on the subject of Spiders from the Multiverse…
Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield
Spider-fans worldwide were treated to the greatest Christmas present when Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield returned to don the webs one more time in Spider-Man: No Way Home. Without question, the film became a great success and demonstrated the incredible chemistry between the three Spider-Men actors.
With Avengers: The Kang Dynasty and Avengers: Secret Wars premiering in a few years, fans have wondered whether or not both Spider-Man actors could reprise their roles once more when the ultimate Marvel Multiverse story takes place.
Additionally, fans have asked Sony and Marvel to develop more solo projects with them again. My take on this is that nothing in the MCU is out of the question. Just recently, Marvel Studios managed to snag Hugh Jackman to reprise the role of Wolverine for the upcoming Deadpool 3 film.
There has been no news on either front of them either reprising their roles for the upcoming Avengers films or their own solo projects, per a number of sources. However, from what I’ve heard, the question has now shifted to when and where the Spider-Verse trio will meet again rather than if they appear again. But only time will tell.
But what do you think? Are you excited about more Spider-Man stories in the future? Let us know on Twitter @mycosmiccircus!
Defining the Rules of the Multiverse Saga
