After previously talking about reading a “Spider-Man 4” script, British actor Tom Holland has finally made the first big official announcement for the fourth MCU installment after Destin Daniel Cretton (“Shang-Chi & The Legend of The Ten Rings,” “Wonder Man”) boarded as the film’s director.
Holland took a much-deserved sabbatical from filmmaking and is ready to make a big return to feature films in 2025. He went on to speak with Jimmy Fallon on “The Tonight Show” (See below) and revealed that not only is “Spider-Man 4” moving forward but will begin shooting sometime in the “summer” (backing up previous rumblings of a delay to the summer).
Recently, The Russo Brothers revealed to Collider that “Avengers: Doomsday” would start filming in the spring (ahead of “Spider-Man 4” and a bit of a delay between when they would pick back up with “Avengers: Secret Wars“). While many folks think that Holland might be too busy to shoot scenes for the “Avengers” installment, it’s said the two Marvel Studios productions would be shot in the United Kingdom, making cross-pollination that much easier for Holland. So, while Peter Parker might not be a centric figure in “Doomsday,” nothing says Marvel won’t be able to figure out a shooting schedule to make it all work, placing Holland in all three films (“Spider-Man 4,” “Avengers: Doomsday,” and “Avengers: Secret Wars”).
There have been plenty of rumors about “Spider-Man 4” being connected to “Venom: The Last Dance,” however, given a new streak of poor to mixed reactions to the third flick (set in the Sonyverse, not MCU), that idea doesn’t sound terribly advised. However, nothing says that the black suit/symbiote won’t eventually make its entry into the greater Marvel Cinematic Universe, as Parker originally got the suit upgrade during the off-world events of “Secret Wars.” There could be other ways of introducing it without the Multiverse gimmick being the angle (via NASA or “Fantastic Four,” maybe?).
What we do know is that Parker will be living on his own in the big city and heading to college. This would allow Marvel to introduce the MCU versions of characters like Gwen Stacy, Harry Osborn, Dr. Curt Connors, Norman Osborn, Dr. Otto Octavius, Robbie Robertson, Eddie Brock, and Felicia Hardy.
As it stands, Holland, Zendaya, and Jacob Batalon are the only existing franchise cast members expected to return, and there is more of a question mark concerning Happy Hogan (Jon Favreau) and Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch). Although it’s likely they’ll show up in some capacity.
Given Spidey’s backyard is New York City and the proximity to “Daredevil: Born Again,” it would seem like a missed opportunity for Marvel not to make a true team-up film with Charlie Cox‘s Daredevil, given Matt Murdock did briefly appear as Peter Parker’s lawyer in “Spider-Man: No Way Home” and would be operating as a street-level superhero (already bumping into Jennifer Walters in “She-Hulk”).
It’s also worth mentioning that Marvel can now finally pit Spider-Man against his longtime criminal underworld foe, Wilson Fisk, aka The Kingpin, after using him in “Hawkeye,” “Echo,” and the aforementioned “Daredevil: Born Again.” One element we’d like to see the franchise return to is the crime-fighting roots, which could see Parker go up against the likes of The Hand (aligned with The Kingpin) and The Maggia (Marvel’s version of the mafia).
We still don’t know who the villain will be despite previous seeds planted for Donald Glover to become The Prowler (Miles Morales’s uncle), along with established villains The Vulture (Michael Keaton) and Scorpion (Michale Mando), seemingly still in prison.
Sony Pictures has yet to give “Spider-Man 4” an official release date, but that will likely change in the coming months. Holland was recently revealed to be in talks for a lead role opposite Matt Damon in Christopher Nolan’s mystery film at Universal Pictures that will be out on July 17, 2026.
You can watch that full exchange between Holland and Fallon below.
SOURCE: THE TONIGHT SHOW/FALLON TONIGHT
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