Spider-Man 4 rumors should have fans very worried

If great power comes with great responsibility, why is Spider-Man 4 — the sequel to one of the biggest Marvel movies of all time — looking like an ill-conceived mess behind the scenes? 

A fourthquel is infamously uncharted territory for Spider-Man. Sam Raimi’s planned follow-up to Spidey 3 — which would have seen Tobey Maguire’s web-head face off against Vulture and Black Cat — was canceled, and Andrew Garfield’s rebooted series failed to make it past The Amazing Spider-Man 2. 

But after the billion-busting success of No Way Home, Holland is poised to make history with a fourth Spider-Man movie in the MCU. This should be exciting — and let’s be honest, when it comes out, I’ll be first in line — but all of the rumors around its development have been concerning, particularly the latest report from Jeff Sneider. 

According to the insider, the movie is set to start shooting in September or October this year. Fast & Furious’ Justin Lin is also reportedly in talks to direct the film, following rumors Jon Watts won’t be returning to the director’s chair.

Sony Pictures

So, what’s the problem? How about the fact we have a possible filming date without a director locked in? Also, who is writing the script? In early 2023, Kevin Feige said “our writers” were working on the story — what does that even mean? Is the MCU’s brain trust cooking up an outline behind the scenes before a writer tries to organize it into a coherent screenplay? 

No Way Home wiped the slate clean for Peter Parker, effectively acting as the conclusion of the character’s origin; now, he can swing through New York City and fight crime as a friendly neighborhood superhero. This is where Raimi’s vision thrived, and Holland’s wall-crawler is crying out for this sort of small-scale freedom; while the MCU was woven into the fabric of the Homecoming trilogy (to a fault), he should be unshackled for now (until Secret Wars, of course). 

Yet, as simple and obvious as that seems, everything about Spider-Man 4 so far seems… confused. There have been rumors of Holland fighting crime alongside Charlie Cox’s Daredevil and eventually having to deal with Vincent D’Onofrio’s Kingpin, but Sony has reportedly lobbied for more multiversal interplay with Garfield and Maguire’s Spider-Men. Miles Morales is also apparently set to make his live-action debut, Zendaya is said to be returning already despite MJ’s memory of Peter being erased, and many believe the symbiote arc is coming — that’s a lot for one movie to deal with. 

Spidey’s big-screen past is increasingly looking like a worrying premonition: Spider-Man 3 was overstuffed because of studio meddling, The Amazing Spider-Man 3 fell apart because its creative direction was bungled by Sony’s interference. 

Spider-Man 4 will be an event, but if Marvel and Sony are still scrambling to find a reason to justify its existence (and the right person to bring it to life), it shouldn’t be rushed into production. The MCU has a schedule to keep, but what would be worse: a delay or a bad Spider-Man movie? “We are who we choose to be, now choose.”

You can also find out everything we know about Spider-Man 4 so far.