While the rumor mill on what lies ahead for Peter Parker has been running nonstop since the release of Spider-Man: No Way Home, recent buzz has made it a trending topic once again. Over the past few weeks, many reports have been made regarding the progress of the fourth installment in the franchise. Tom Holland will return to reprise his role as the iconic web-slinger in Spider-Man 4, alongside Zendaya, who is also confirmed to return to the franchise as MJ. Destin Daniel Cretton, the director behind Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, is set to direct the project, stepping in for Jon Watts. The film is slated to be released on July 24, 2026.
The ending of No Way Home saw the existence of Peter Parker being wiped from everyone in the universe’s memory to prevent the Multiverse from imploding, including his closest friends, Ned Leeds, and MJ. In doing so, Peter Parker is left to his own devices, living on his own in New York, as Peter Parker is no more… but Spider-Man lives on. This open ending allowed writers to write the next chapter of Spider-Man’s story with few limitations.
Erik Sommers and Chris McKenna, who wrote 2021’s Spider-Man: No Way Home, are writing the script for the next film. Over the past few days, Holland has teased the story, praising the work and stating it’s “a real movie worthy of the fans’ respect.” However, online discourse has been divided regarding what that story should be.
Spider-Man 4, “a real movie worthy of fans’ respect” – Tom Holland
A statement like the one Holland shared regarding the film’s story is bold. There will always be a sector of fans who might not like the direction of a film’s story, which is certainly true for Spider-Man fans. Over the last few weeks, the main point of debate has been whether or not Peter’s story following the events of No Way Home should aim to be grounded or multiversal.
The story arc for the past few years since the start of Phase 4 has put the Multiverse in the spotlight across many projects. Understandably, many fans are tired of the Multiverse story trope, and some believe it tends to get repetitive throughout many projects, using it over the years as a crutch to compensate for poor storytelling and legacy cameos in their projects. In addition to that, Marvel/Sony have already used the Multiverse story trope in Spider-Man: No Way Home, so if they went for a multiverse storyline again, some fans might feel as though the next installment might be a repeat of the last film, cheapening the value of No Way Home.
However, as Tom Holland himself noted during his appearance on the Rich Roll podcast: “One of the things to bear in mind with Marvel is that your film is a small cog in a large machine, and that machine has got to keep running. And you need to make sure you can fit into that timeline at the right time to benefit the bigger picture. That’s one of the challenges we’re facing. The time in which we need to get that done is a tall order, but achievable with the fantastic people we have working on it now.”
A tall order is correct, especially if you want to tell a street-level story just after the bombshell of a movie that is expected just a few months prior with Avengers: Doomsday.
In the next few articles, we will present a few ideas about the directions Spider-Man’s story could take in the next few years. To kick things off, we will explore concepts for a street-level story that could be adapted into the current landscape of the Multiverse Saga for the upcoming film in a way that makes sense for everyone.
What we know so far about future Spider-Man appearances
Before the arrival of Spider-Man 4, Tom Holland is set to make his MCU return in the upcoming Avengers: Doomsday. The film, penned by Steven McFeely and directed by Joe and Anthony Russo, will be responsible for presenting Peter’s first interactions and moments since the events of No Way Home, so audiences will be looking forward to seeing how his story picks up from there. The current rumor mill behind Doomsday seems to indicate that we will see the effects of the incursions play out, with Doctor Doom (portrayed by Robert Downey Jr.) being the clever mastermind behind it all, and potentially creating a Battleworld using the remnants of the final universes by the end of it—or, maybe a new Sacred Timeline.
Just 2 months after Doomsday, we would be getting Spider-Man 4. Now, some rumors have pointed out some of the characters that would be a part of the cast for this movie, including Michael Keaton’s Vulture, Charlie Cox’s Daredevil, a second female lead, and even RDJ’s Doom. Additional reports have also stated that the upcoming film will be a sequel, as opposed to a prequel (in the same way Ant-Man and the Wasp was a prequel released after Avengers: Infinity War). I’ve corroborated that last report independently; therefore, we can start our storyline premise from there.
Tying Avengers: Doomsday to the next chapter in the Spider-Man story
What if by the end of Avengers: Doomsday, Doom got his way and managed to create a brand-new world, not necessarily Battleworld, but rather a new Sacred Timeline, with different universes and timelines interwoven together to create a new Earth? After all, He Who Remains did that to make the Sacred Timeline, which we know as the Infinity Saga.
Rumor has it that one of the more important interactions in that film will be between Peter Parker and Doctor Doom. After all, Doom carries the face of Peter’s former mentor, Tony Stark, albeit the iconic mask will likely cover his face. Not to mention, if Doom is investigating the cause of the incursions, there is no doubt that the one caused by Peter and Doctor Strange will be at the top of his list. This will make him interested in, at the very least, talking to both of these characters, but that’s another article for another day.
Suppose Doom offered Peter the opportunity to safely undo the effects of Strange’s spell and grant him the chance to get his friends (and possibly even family back). In that case, Peter, who is emotionally vulnerable following the events of No Way Home, is likely to quickly jump at the opportunity for the chance of a new life.
A brand new day…in a brand new timeline
In this new version of reality, Peter could have a new life and the reality he had always envisioned. Peter is in college with his friends, MJ and Ned Leeds. This would be an excellent way to reintroduce fellow co-stars Jacob Batalon and Zendaya. This timeline reset could also allow previous characters displaced throughout the Multiverse to return, such as Michael Keaton’s Vulture, and bring back characters that we lost along the way, such as Marisa Tomei’s Aunt May. And who knows who else might show up if multiple universes are tied up into this new version of Earth?
From this point, the story could take place anywhere across New York, although the direction most fans are interested in seeing is Spider-Man walking into Hell’s Kitchen. Following their brief interaction in No Way Home, fans have been wanting to see Charlie Cox’s Matt Murdock return to the franchise as Daredevil and interact with Tom Holland’s Spider-Man, with the idea being that they would team up to take down Wilson Fisk, aka Kingpin (Vincent D’Onofrio). But how exactly could those storylines intertwine?
Spider-Man, Daredevil and Devil’s Reign
The next time we see Matt Murdock’s entry into the MCU will be in March 2025, in his series Daredevil: Born Again. In the show, we will see Matt Murdock and Wilson Fisk focus on their own personal lives as they attempt to leave behind the lives they both knew as Daredevil and Kingpin. Murdock returns to his career as a lawyer with his law firm, while Wilson Fisk pursues his political endeavors as Mayor of New York.
They are set to adapt a crucial storyline in the comics known as Devil’s Reign, where Fisk is elected Mayor and outlaws vigilantes in New York, making heroes like Daredevil, Punisher, and even Spider-Man public enemies #1. At the same time, as Fisk is forced to leave his former life as a mob boss behind to obtain his political status, this leaves a massive kingpin-sized hole in the Marvel criminal underground, leaving large amounts of territory and power up for grabs, which no doubt would unleash an entire war in New York. It’s also an excellent way to introduce new villains and reintroduce familiar faces as secondary villains from Spider-Man lore, such as Hammerhead, Tombstone, members of the Maggia, Aaron Davis’ Prowler, Mac Gargan, and more.
With all that’s at stake, Spider-Man and Daredevil would have to team up to face the oncoming gang war, which threatens the lives of the people of New York, in an attempt to change the “court of public opinion” on the heroes as vigilantes. All while the looming shadow of Wilson Fisk oversees everything.
With great power comes great responsibility
The one element that should be explored throughout the story is Peter’s sense of guilt, which haunts him as the movie plays out. Yes, he finally has the life he has always wanted, but at what cost? His choice affected the lives of those around him, and that decision will gnaw in the back of his head as the story plays out. It echoes back to the main point that made him become the hero we all know and love.
The phrase “With great power comes great responsibility” is one all Spider-Man fans know by heart. The most common interpretation of it refers to Peter choosing to be responsible with his powers as Spider-Man, which is what makes him the iconic hero he is.
But in this sense, the “great power” isn’t just his actual powers. The true “great power” is choice. Our choices have an incalculable ripple effect across not just our lives but those around us. In Peter’s case here, his choice would have affected practically the lives of everyone in the known Multiverse. The weight of that choice would weigh on him throughout the movie, ultimately realizing that he did not choose responsibly, and must do the right thing by undoing it come Avengers: Secret Wars.
The issue with this potential multiverse story happening before Secret Wars
While many of these elements do sound intriguing and are something that many fans are interested in seeing, the current setting might make it extremely difficult for them to become a good story. Many fans are eager to see Peter and Matt interact, but doing a storyline like this now, especially in an alternate universe, might seem distasteful to many fans since it runs the risk of never becoming canon if Doom’s Sacred Timeline is reversed.
A majority of this story would be all for null, since none of the interactions we see in the movie would be preserved post-Secret Wars. This story is better fitted if adapted across multiple films and evenly spaced out in different projects, like the second season of Daredevil: Born Again and Spider-Man 5, once the Multiverse Saga has ended.
This leaves us with another alternative: a story set with a multiversal overtone and a tie-in to a recent Sony release that could bring Spider-Man face-to-face with an interaction fans have also wanted to see for years, Tom Hardy’s Eddie Brock, aka Venom. But that is a story for another day.
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