After Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021) became both the highest-grossing Spider-Man film of all time and one of the highest-grossing superhero films of all time, Disney and Marvel rightly took a breather. Calibrating the character’s MCU future and realizing that audiences might get too tired of the character, they let talks of the fourth film simmer, and yet refused to lock down a release date. But we finally have some news on Spider-Man 4 and what to expect from Tom Holland's next movie:
Of course, it didn't help that Sony’s own universe of Marvel characters had all but crashed and burned by the end of 2024. The Venom trilogy notwithstanding, every other Sony Marvel flick had failed to garner goodwill from both the critics and the box office. In addition, talks of introducing Miles Morales into the MCU had stalled as well. Under this plan, Holland, after seven MCU appearances, would gradually segue out of the role, leaving Morales as the main MCU Spider-Man.
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These rapidly shifting plans meant that the future of Spider-Man 4 was more important than ever. Thus, it was finally announced in October 2024 that Spider-Man 4 would release in theatres in July 2026, two months after Avengers: Doomsday and almost 5 years after the last solo Spider-Man film. Tom Holland is once again back as the web slinger, with Shang Chi helmer Destin Daniel Cretton is now in the director’s chair. Jon Watts, who directed each of the three previous installments, moved on to do The Fantastic Four. With Shang Chi 2 on the back burner, it made sense for Marvel to bring Cretton on another project, since Shang Chi was one of the highlights of Phase Four.
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In addition to Holland, Zendaya is also confirmed to reprise her role as Michelle Jones. J.K. Simmons, who plays J. Jonah Jameson across both Tobey Maguire and Tom Holland Spider-Man films, is also back. Also, Sadie Sink (Stranger Things) has been cast in an undisclosed role. Rumors are swirling that she is either playing Black Cat or Gwen Stacy. The villain of the film has not yet been cast, although this has not stopped fans and the media from going into overdrive about who the big bad might be.
The title of the fourth film, Spider-Man: Brand New Day, suggests that the film will move away from the story of the first three films, centering on a soft reset of Peter’s story, allowing him a new character arc across another trilogy of films. At the end of the third film, Doctor Strange’s spell forced everyone to forget that Peter was Spider-Man. The new film is bound to explore this concept in full, and thus, new additions to the cast make more sense. There will be callbacks to Peter’s past, and a few other Marvel characters may also make an appearance.
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Holland is also set to reprise his role in Avengers: Doomsday, going up against Robert Downey Jr.’s Dr. Doom. Since Spider-Man: Brand New Day will release two months after Avengers: Doomsday, it is bound to have some narrative consequences from the Avengers sequel, just like Spider-Man: Far From Home did in the case of Avengers: Endgame.
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Whatever ends up happening, it is clear that Spider-Man: Brand New Day will be an exciting adventure and another glorious entry in the MCU. With more than a year to go before the film’s release, expect more exciting tidbits about the film to make their way into the media pretty soon. Fans and audiences excitedly await the film’s first trailer, which will probably be released at the end of the year, if Marvel follows the formula of previous Spider-Man films.
Let us know in the comments below what your expectations are of the new Spider-Man flick.
