For fans of our friendly neighborhood hero, we’ve been waiting patiently for news of Spider-Man 4, which has been hard because there is a constant stream of upcoming Marvel movies and TV shows, but little news about the web-slinging crimefighter. Following the end of No Way Home, we’re just ready to see the next chapter for Peter Parker. Thanks to a little rumor, we have an idea of what fan favorite villains might be in the spotlight of the next upcoming Spider-Man movie.
In a Patreon post by industry insider Daniel Richtman (via ComicBook), he shared a little insight into the now scrapped script for Spider-Man 4, which included what villains were being considered to play a part in the movie. While he did not say what villains replaced the ones that were scrapped, his post stated that the scrapped villains were Shocker and Scorpion.
Up until now, the villains we have seen have all been ones that haven’t had an official MCU appearance, with both Shocker and Scorpion making appearance in the 2017 Spider-Man: Homecoming. But they didn’t have major roles outside of being members of Adrian Toomes' crew. A good collection of the major villains shown across the MCU so far have been the members of the Sinister Six, which has been the basis for the theories that we’ll be getting a Sinister Six movie.
For those who don’t know, the Sinister Six is comprised, as you would expect, of six villains. Some members interchange, but for the most part it’s the same six people: Shocker/Electro, Scorpion, Vulture, Kraven, Doc Ock, and the last spot interchanges between Sandman and Mysterio. With the release of the Kraven the Hunter movie it supported the idea that maybe Sony and the MCU were trying to dabble and revive the old attempt to bring the six to the big screen.
On top of that, the post credit scene in Homecoming hinted at the potential future appearance of Scorpion. However seeing as these villains were scrapped, it looks like they went a different direction not just with the villains, but the whole script. It seems as though the movie’s direction is leaning more towards showing Peter Parker's mental state after the events of No Way Home. This movie may also have some connections to Avengers: Doomsday but again, only time will tell.
Everything above are speculations solely based on what little we know so far about Spider-Man 4. The movie itself might have a lower threat level, but that has yet to be seen. We very well still could see these characters, but on a smaller scale. We’ll just have to wait and see. As of right now, the movie is set to release in July 2026, and filming is set to start later in 2025. While we wait you can binge up on the previous Spidey movies, most of which are available with a Disney+ subscription.
