The last time we saw our friendly neighborhood Spider-Man (Tom Holland) at the end of the massive team-up movie Spider-Man: No Way Home, he was swinging into the night skies over Manhattan, starting his career as a crimefighter who none of his loved ones remember. But we, his dedicated fanbase, remember very well. And we prepared ourselves for some nuggets of news of the planned sequel Spider-Man 4, which has generated plenty of rumors, but no real news. Some think it might be a street-level story. Some believe it might involve the symbiote that Tom Hardy’s Venom left in the MCU. Anything is possible, but at the moment, nothing is known.
Marvel Studios held two massive panels in the past few weeks, one in Hall H at San Diego Comic Con, and the other in Anaheim during D23. The focus was on several upcoming Marvel movies like Captain America: Brave New World and The Fantastic Four: First Steps. During D23, Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige focused more on upcoming Marvel TV shows like Ironheart and the highly anticipated Daredevil: Born Again. But while we got some teases for the animated Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, there was nothing new on Spider-Man 4.
I know. Spider-Man movies are Sony properties, and it’s up to them to announce new movies. Yes, but no. If Marvel had plans for more Spider-Man, we easily could have heard about them during either Comic Con or D23, as when Marvel slotted Tom Holland’s first two MCU movies onto the larger calendar, and then invited the cast of Spider-Man: Homecoming on stage at Hall H. Remember this?
So, no news must be good news? Actually, no. I’m starting to wonder just how long we are going to have to wait for Spider-Man 4, and the calculations aren’t terrific.
We might see Spider-Man before we see Spider-Man 4.
That sounds weird, but let me explain. Marvel has four movies on the calendar for 2025, but one of them likely is going to have to move. For starters, Marvel Studios doesn’t want to release four movies a year. They figured out that releasing one to two movies a year – like Deadpool and Wolverine this summer – helps to make the movie an event, and possibly propel the box office for that movie past $1 billion.
Anyway, the four movies for 2025 are Captain America: Brave New World (in February), Thunderbolts* (in May), The Fantastic Four: First Steps (in July), and Blade (in November). If I had to place a bet, I’d wager that Blade moves off that date. The movie has no script, and fans currently are clamoring for Wesley Snipes to continue in the role. Mahershala Ali probably will eventually become the MCU’s Daywalker, but it probably won’t happen until 2026, at the earliest.
During San Diego Comic-Con this summer, Marvel Studios did clarify its plans for The Avengers in a post-Kang universe. Robert Downey Jr. is returning to the MCU, only this time will be playing Victor Von Doom in Avengers: Doomsday, slated for May 1, 2026. If Blade shifts from November 2025 to early 2026 (like February or March), then the next MCU movie after it likely would be Avengers: Doomsday.
And I think that’s the most realistic place for Tom Holland’s Spider-Man to show up again.
The Avengers movies in the MCU are massive team up movies. There are precious few slots between now and May 2026 to drop Spider-Man 4. My guess is that Spider-Man quietly fights crime in NYC while the MCU story unfolds in 2025, and we see Peter Parker swing into action with the rest of the Marvel heroes in Avengers: Doomsday, the way that he appeared in Avengers: Infinity War.
Naturally, Tom Holland’s Spider-Man also would be part of Avengers: Secret Wars, which Marvel Studios has dated for May 7, 2027. It’s also believed that EVERY major Marvel character will appear in that movie, probably even Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield’s versions of Spider-Man. Following the events of Avengers: Secret Wars, the MCU is going to need a bit of a reset, and some new leadership.
And that’s when I think the more traditional Spider-Man 4 might land in theaters.
Realistically, when might Spider-Man 4 happen?
Right now, as was pointed out by my colleague Adam Holmes, Marvel Studios has open slots in 2026 in February and November. My guess is that Blade moves out of 2025 and grabs one of those, probably even the November one. February makes a lot of sense for Armor Wars, which could build off of 2025’s Ironheart series. That moves us into 2027, where rumored sequels such as Shang-Chi 2 or Doctor Strange 3 feel like more appropriate set ups for the massive Avengers: Secret Wars. The end credits scene of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness goes so far as to mention incursions, which I believe will be integral to Doctor Doom appearing in the MCU. (Start reading Jonathan Hickman’s Secret Wars now, so you are up to speed on the possibilities.)
While fans wait for Doomsday and Secret Wars, Marvel Studios already is planning ahead. The studio circled two 2027 release dates on its calendar, putting them after Secret Wars and the closure of the Multiverse Saga: July 23, and November 5. And like my friend Adam, I believe that those slots will be filled by Spider-Man 4 (on July 23) and the MCU’s X-Men movie on November 5.
If Marvel had earlier plans for Tom Holland’s Spider-Man, I honestly believe that Kevin Feige would have made them clear at either San Diego Comic Con or D23. While doing press for Deadpool and Wolverine, Feige confirmed that a script was on its way, and that the studio would be looking for a new director to replace Jon Watts. At the moment, though, the studio is laser focused on The Fantastic Four for 2025, and back-to-back Avengers movies in 2026 and 2027. Even if a Spider-Man 4 script and director was secured in the next few months, filming wouldn’t begin until early 2025, putting the movie in theaters in 2026.
No, it feels like those two dates Marvel nabbed post-Secret Wars is when we are going to see Spider-Man 4. But Marvel will be able to satisfy fans by at least saying Tom Holland will be integral to the two Avengers movies in 2026 and 2027, before leading the MCU into whatever the next saga will be. Spider-Man isn’t going anywhere. And according to my best guess, he won’t be going to theaters any time soon.
