Tom Holland’sSpider-Man 4has a perfect way of balancing a street-level story with multiverse elements at the same time, according to a newMarvel Cinematic Universetheory. After the enormous success ofSpider-Man: No Way Home, it was easy to know that Tom Holland would be brought back for more as Peter Parker. The MCU’s next Spider-Man movie is now well underway, withShang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings’Destin Daniel Cretton reportedly set to directSpider-Man 4. One ofHolland’s Spider-Man movieswill not be directed by Jon Watts for the first time.
Spider-Man 4’s MCU Crossover Character Just Got Two Likely Candidates After Latest Major Update
Tom Holland’s Spider-Man 4 has received its biggest update in years, and the movie now has two likely MCU candidates to play key roles in the story.
TheMCU’sSpider-Man 4is aiming to start filming in early 2025. To make that date, casting news should come from now until the end of the year. This could include teases thatSpider-Man 4’s story will skew towards the multiverse or a grounded tale. The different paths have been rumored to be either Sony’s or Marvel’s preference, respectively. However, there is an interesting way for the next Spider-Man movie to include both,making the most ofSpider-Man: No Way Home’s setup and the MCU’s Multiverse Saga.
MCU Theory Makes Spider-Man 4 The Perfect Street-Level & Multiverse Film
A Street-Level Story With Plenty Of Multiverse Elements
On Reddit, Marvel fanreddituser6213shared an intriguing theory that explains how Holland’sSpider-Man 4could be street-level and use the multiverse at the same time. The MCU theory takes into account thefranchise’s slate of releases, withSpider-Man 4’s likely slot afterAvengers: Doomsdayallowing that film to impact it. Robert Downey Jr.’s Doctor Doom would create Battleworld at the end ofAvengers: Doomsday, which would put several Marvel live-action properties and characters in one world. After that event,Spider-Man 4would take place in a New York setting inside Battleworld, with Peter Parker not remembering what Doom did.
In the 2015 Marvel Comics Secret Wars event,Doctor Doom created Battleworld and wiped out the memories of most charactersto make them believe that Battleworld was all that ever existed, forgetting their universes. The same could happen inSpider-Man 4, with the movie focusing on a street-level story with the wall-crawler that spins out ofSpider-Man: No Way Home’s ending; only the New York it is set in exists as part of Battleworld. That would allow the film to also feature multiverse characters for cameos, such as the other Spider-Men, who could also be living in this NYC.
Spider-Man 4 Is Likely To Release After Avengers: Doomsday
The MCU Movie Has Just Received Major Updates
One of the main reasons this story would work is due to the MCU’s slate of movies. After a tame 2024, which only saw the release ofDeadpool & Wolverine, Marvel Studios has four movies scheduled for 2025. SinceHolland’sSpider-Man 4will begin filming early next year, the most likely scenario for the film is to be ready for theaters at some point in 2026. That year currently hasAvengers: Doomsdayscheduled for a May release, with dates for unnamed MCU movies in February and November.Spider-Man 4will not be released in either.
Tom Holland’s first two Spider-Man movies were released in July, andSpider-Man 4could follow that trend.
The reason for that is that Sony is the studio that schedules Spider-Man movies' release dates, not Marvel. As such, the February slot before May 2026’sAvengers: Doomsdaywill not beSpider-Man 4’s, and releasing the film between those two MCU movies would make the start of the year way too stacked. However,Marvel dropped a June 21, 2025, release date, which could very well be scooped up by Sony forSpider-Man 4, securing its release a couple of months afterAvengers: Doomsday. Tom Holland’s first two Spider-Man movies were released in July, andSpider-Man 4could follow that trend.
Why Spider-Man 4’s Best Story Would Be Both Street-Level & Multiversal
Spider-Man: No Way Home’s Success Should Impact The Movie
Spider-Man: No Way Homeended in a perfect way to make Holland’s Peter Parker closer to the character’s classic comic book adventures. Spider-Man has little tech at hand, making his new suit from scratch. Peter is also living alone in a small apartment, withthe character’s life turned completely upside down after Doctor Strange’s spellmakes everyone forget who he is. That tease of a grounded Spider-Man story has to be followed up, with there being plenty of darker and more personal tales the movie could adapt. Characters like Kingpin, Daredevil, Black Cat, Hammerhead, and more could fit that tone.
Director Destin Daniel Cretton’s connection to Shang-Chi could lead to Simu Liu’s MCU hero making an appearance in Spider-Man 4.
That said, the MCU’s Multiverse Saga will come to an end in 2027 withAvengers: Secret Wars, so the time is now for Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield’s versions of Spider-Man to make more appearances. AfterSpider-Man: No Way Homemade nearly $2 billion worldwidedue to the past Spider-Man actors being included, their returns inSpider-Man 4are very much possible. As such, balancing a street-level story with multiversal elements like the MCU theory suggests seems like the best bet to makeSpider-Man 4a huge hit that followsSpider-Man: No Way Homenicely.
Spider-Man 4
Cast
Spider-Man 4 is the first sequel to the MCU’s Spider-Man trilogy starring Tom Holland as the titular wall-crawler. After wiping his identity for the public’s memory in Spider-Man: No Way Home, Peter Parker continues his crime-fighting adventures without the aid of Iron Man technology or the support of his former allies.
