There has been so much buzz surrounding the slate of upcoming Marvel movies, with a new trailer for Captain America: Brave New World, the official casting announcement for The Fantastic Four, and the anticipated team up of Deadpool (Ryan Reynolds) and Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) for a movie that lands next week. One hero who has remained a bit in the dark since his last triumphant outing has been Tom Holland’s Spider-Man, a hero that comes with ties to Sony as well as Marvel Studios. Granted, the last Spider-Man movie, Spider-Man: No Way Home, gave fans the team-up of our dreams, and ranks as one of the best Spider-Man movies ever made. But what is happening with Spider-Man 4?
So far, Spidey’s tenure in the Marvel Cinematic Universe has been under the watchful eye of director Jon Watts, who came on board with Spider-Man: Homecoming, and helmed all three MCU Spider-Man films. While in New York City to do press for Deadpool and Wolverine, I got the opportunity to sit down with Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige and discuss the MCU’s future. When I asked about Spider-Man 4, and whether he anticipated Jon Watts staying with the franchise, Feige told CinemaBlend:
We love Jon. Jon did three of the best Spider-Man films ever for us. He's got lots of things going on now. So we'll probably be looking for somebody else, just because he's busy.
Jon Watts is busy. He has a movie coming out later this year called Wolfs that starts George Clooney and Brad Pitt as competing “clean up” men. The trailer makes it seem like a real romp, with two charismatic leading men. After that, however, Watts is shifting from Marvel to the Star Wars realm, directing episodes of the upcoming Disney+ series Skeleton Crew. We don’t know a tremendous amount about Skeleton Crew, outside of the fact that it introduces Jude Law to the Star Wars galaxy, and has a story that centers around kids on an adventure.
So it sounds like Skeleton Crew (and other projects) is going to take Jon Watts out of the running to direct Spider-Man 4. Which lends credence to some of the rumors we have been hearing about the sequel. Names that range from original Spider-Man director Sam Raimi to the explosive duo of Bilall and Adil (who helmed Ms. Marvel episodes, and are Sony guys thanks to the Bad Boys franchise) have been in the mix. Personally, I’d love to see them get a shot. I’d also like to one day see their Batgirl movie. To hope and dream.
Spider-Man 4 remains one of the most eagerly anticipated Marvel movies on the horizon. By the end of Spider-Man: No Way Home, it felt like Peter Parker (Tom Holland) was just beginning his journey as a lonely, broke Spider-Man. Now we can’t wait to see which filmmaker will usher in the new era of Spider-Man in the MCU.
