New rumors surface for Spider-Man 4 that line up with previous reports how the fourth film in the franchise will be going in a new direction.
“We have to deal with the fact that he decided he was going to give up being Peter Parker and he was gonna focus on being Spider-Man because being Peter Parker was too hard. So that’s what the movie is about,” producer Amy Pascal said in a recent interview.
The rumors offer a new villain will be featured in the film; it sounds like Spider-Man 4 will have connections to Avengers: Secret Wars, and it’s said Zendaya’s role as MJ is reduced.
The Devil is in the details
According to Jeff Sneider, a villain being featured in Spider-Man 4 could be Mephisto played by Sacha Baron Cohen who is also supposed to appear in the Ironheart Disney+ series.
Fans of the comics know that similar to what went down at the end of No Way Home, in the comics it was Peter who makes a deal with Mephisto to have everyone forget him following his identity reveal in Civil War. The controversial story in the comics, One More Day, wiped out Peter’s marriage to MJ.
The end of No Way Home sees Doctor Strange cast a spell so everyone forgets who Peter and Spider-Man are, which of course, includes MJ. Maybe things are reversed in the MCU where Peter tries to make a deal with Mephisto to return everyone’s memories? Or at least MJ’s?
Reduced role for Zenda role
Sneider also says Zendaya’s role in Spider-Man 4 is “severely reduced” and will be “minor.” Again, this is nothing new and lines up with the reports a new female lead will play opposite Tom Holland. It’s speculated to be Black Cat who has more of a thing for Spidey than Peter Parker.
Zendaya also happens to have a busy schedule as she is starring in the new Christopher Nolan movie which films next year, and with Dune 3 filming next year. That said, Tom Holland has a busy schedule as he is also starring in the new Nolan movie, yet Holland also has Spider-Man 4 to film next year and possibly Avengers: Doomsday which will see him reunite with Downey Jr.
Since everyone forgot about Peter, Sneider also claims a new cast of schoolmates will be featured in Spider-Man 4, again which makes sense.
Symbiotes, oh my!
Sneider also claims that Spider-Man 4 will feature symbiotes. Again, it’s not that all surprising as the post-credit scene of No Way Home saw Tom Hardy’s Venom leave behind some of the Venom symbiote. It’s assumed Spider-Man 4 will set up Tom Holland wearing the black Spider-Man suit in Avengers: Secret Wars, maybe even Avengers: Doomsday, and or quite possibly the end of Spider-Man 4.
The untitled Spider-Man 4 has a July 26, 2026 release date. It’s expected to play a big part in the MCU’s Multiverse story along with Fantastic Four next summer. Shang-Chi‘s Destin Daniel Cretton is directing. It could very well also be possible Simu-Liu appears, as Shang-Chi 2 doesn’t look to be happening or at the least is years away.
