Tom Holland is swinging back into action as Marvel's Spider-Man. The as-yet-untitled fourth movie in Marvel's Spidey series — we'll call it SPIDER-MAN 4 for now — finally has a director. A script is in motion, and plans to film in 2025 are firming up.
While we don't know very much about the movie at this point, and it is increasingly difficult to separate fact from rumor, we can tell you a few things. Here's everything you need to know about SPIDER-MAN 4.
What's the Spider-Man 4 Release Date?
Right now, SPIDER-MAN 4 does not have a release date. But it is reportedly set to film in early 2025, which makes a late 2026 release date somewhat likely. That said, Spider-Man movies are traditionally summer releases. Of the eight big-screen live-action Spidey adventures, four came out in May, three in July, and one in December.
That December release was SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME, which arrived in December 2021, and part of that release date strategy was based on pandemic closures, restrictions, and production challenges. If Marvel and Disney want to keep that December pattern going, it'll mean putting the new Spidey movie out right at the same time as the next STAR WARS movie. So… we're curious to see what the studio will do!
Will Spider-Man 4 Be Part of the Next Avengers Story?
A big question related to the SPIDER-MAN 4 release date is where Marvel plans to position it around the upcoming Avengers movies. Those are set for May 2026 and May 2027. We expect that AVENGERS: SECRET WARS, the second of the two Avengers films, will dramatically reshape the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Placing SPIDER-MAN before SECRET WARS will have very different implications for the character than putting it after that film. (Especially since Tom Holland is not going to want to play Spidey forever.) That said, SPIDER-MAN: FAR FROM HOME was an effective epilogue to INFINITY WAR and ENDGAME, so that could be Marvel's strategy here, too.
Will Spider-Man Appear in Avengers: Doomsday or Secret Wars?
This is another huge question, and right now we don't know. Tom Holland is rumored to be set to film a part for DOOMSDAY, but this has not been confirmed. The answer to questions about SPIDER-MAN 4's release date will help manage expectations about where we might see Spidey in the upcoming Avengers sequels.
That said, the Webhead has been a big part of Marvel's team-up movies for a while now, so it would be somewhat surprising if he's not in at least one of the two Avengers movies. And since SECRET WARS is the story in which Spider-Man got his black costume in comic books — setting up the introduction of Venom — it's easy to assume that Tom Holland will be an important part of the two-part Avengers story.
The Shang-Chi Filmmaker Is Directing Spider-Man 4
The biggest news about SPIDER-MAN 4 is that Destin Daniel Cretton will direct. He made SHANG-CHI AND THE LEGEND OF THE TEN RINGS for Marvel, and has been developing a sequel to that film. He was also set to direct the fifth Avengers movie when it was going to be THE KANG DYNASTY. Pivoting away from Kang caused a lot of changes in Marvel's planned storyline, but Cretton stuck around!
Chris McKenna & Erik Sommers, who wrote the previous three Spider-Man movies for Marvel, are returning to script the fourth.
Who's in the Cast of Spider-Man 4?
Tom Holland will be in Spider-Man 4! And… that's just about all we know. It's reasonable to expect that Zendaya, Marisa Tomei, Jacob Batalon, and Tony Revolori might all recur as well. But right now we don't know!
Rumors say that Robert Downey, Jr. will appear as Doomsday, which would bookend Downey's prominent roles in previous Spider-Man movies, as Iron Man. But nothing is confirmed right now. There are many other rumors flying right now. Some are more credible than others but nothing is confirmed.
We'll tell you more about SPIDER-MAN 4 soon!
All images courtesy of Marvel Studios.