Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021) closed with revenue of more than 1.9 billion USD, creating motivation for Marvel Studios to soon produce a sequel. However, due to the impact of the strike of 11,500 American screenwriters in 2023, the film development process was affected.
At the end of March, The Guardian reported that there were rumors that Justin Lin would replace Jon Watts as director of Spider-Man 4. Insider guessed that filming would take place in September or October, and Tom Holland would return as Spider-Man. but isolated in an unknown world, after the climactic events of the previous part.
“Of course, Zendaya’s character MJ could also return. It’s possible that audiences will also witness the appearance of Jacob Batalon as Ned,” The Guardian commented.
In an interview at the end of 2023, Tom Holland revealed that he and the producer were actively discussing the script for the fourth Spider-Man movie as well as considering options for how Peter Parker should appear.
There are many speculations about Spider-Man 4. Maybe Parker will continue to engage in street antics as the Marvel comic motif has drawn for decades, or become another version with many new things. . The prospect of the character accompanying Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield’s version of Spider-Man on a multiverse trip cannot be ruled out.
Meanwhile, if MJ is truly “resurrected”, The Guardian sees that there needs to be a catalyst to restore her memories of her boyfriend Peter.
The newspaper argued: “Marvel has no shortage of ways to deal with the evil spell in Spider-Man: No Way Home like they did with Doctor Strange. Regardless, an alternate reality has been created and everyone has forgotten.” having lost Spider-Man’s identity in the Multiverse of Madness, the Sorcerer Supreme still seems to know who the ‘New York wall-crawler’ really is.”
Even without a catalyst, loyal audiences shouldn’t forget that most Spider-Man stories work perfectly with an anonymous Parker. That’s why, according to writer Ben Child, Marvel easily solved the problem by putting MJ in the situation of “not knowing who Spider-Man is” for the first 5 minutes, then gradually getting to know this character.
Amid a series of speculations that Tom Holland is about to make a big comeback, Screenrant believes that this is the right time for the actor to give up his job as a web shooter and make way for the new Spider-Man to replace him.
After the events of Spider-Man: No Way Home, Parker was completely alone and it was unclear whether his friends and allies remembered him or not. This unintentionally creates an opportunity for Parker to recruit a new hero and become a mentor, similar to how Iron Man and Doctor Strange once mentored him.
It’s highly likely that the Spider-Man franchise kicks off a new trilogy by turning Cindy Moon (Tiffany Espensen) into Silk or bringing Miles Morales into the MCU. Back in 2017’s Spider-Man: Homecoming, actor Donald Glover debuted as Aaron Davis, Miles Morales’ uncle, and even mentioned his nephew, but neither Davis nor Morales have appeared in the MCU since there.
Therefore, Glover’s appearance (live-action role) in the aimated film Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is a sign that Marvel wants to establish the character’s return as Prowler in Spider-Man. 4. Meanwhile, the upcoming project will bring together some interesting heroes.
Tom Holland’s future in the MCU
Although it is confirmed that he will continue to play Spider-Man in at least 3 new films, Tom Holland sees Spider-Man: No Way Home as the perfect ending to the character’s journey.
He once shared with GQ Magazine that if he “played Spider-Man after the age of 30, he would have done something wrong”. But not long after, the actor explained that he was still happy to perform Spider-Man 4, 5, 6 and ended the role at the age of 32. This gave Marvel Studios more time to exploit the British actor.
“I don’t know what Spider-Man’s future is like, I don’t know if I’ll still be a part of it or not. However, Spider-Man will always exist in my heart. I understand that producer Amy Pascal and the studio really want find out what the next chapter of Spider-Man is,” Holland confided.
The actor added: “If there is an ending for me, I will also find it interesting. When I left, I was also very proud.”
MCU’s Spiders appear in many versions of female superheroes. Miles Morales or Silk are two characters that the actor wants to replace Peter Parker soon, possibly in Spider-Man 4.
According to Screenrant, although Spider-Man 4 will likely be Holland’s last adventure in the Spider-Man armor, there are still countless stories revolving around the character that have yet to be adapted from Marvel Comics to the big screen. Other cool stuff about Parker is likely to appear in parts 5 and 6.
“Sometimes it’s a good decision because Tom Holland is still participating in the MCU and gives Marvel Studios more time to fully evaluate and see who is capable of replacing Spider-Man, and also helps Tom set a record as an actor. the most solo projects in the MCU”, the newspaper concluded.