Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige revealed his dream for the MCU that gets him up for work every morning. Long before Marvel Studios, Kevin Feige was a producer on the red brand's early 2000s pre-MCU movies, such as X-Men, Spider-Man 2, Hulk, and Daredevil. Years later, Feige became President of Production at the brand-new Marvel Studios in 2007, starting his journey to craft the MCU from a box of scraps. Of course, at this time, Marvel had sold off most of its major characters' film rights, such as the Fantastic Four and X-Men to Fox, and Spider-Man to Sony. That said, Feige still managed to steer the ship and turn Marvel's B-list and below heroes into household names.
In more recent years, since the MCU has become the biggest franchise in the world, Feige (now also Chief Creative Officer of Marvel as a whole) truly has all the best toys to play with. Since Disney acquired 20th Century Fox, the X-Men and Fantastic Four are finally back home, and a historic deal with Sony allows Spider-Man to appear in the MCU as part of a co-production agreement. That said, there are still nine characters that Marvel Studios can't make movies for. Feige's landmark success with the MCU has turned him into one of the most praised producers in the world, effectively creating the modern cinematic universe.
As The Fantastic Four: First Steps was coming to theaters in July, Feige spoke with GamesRadar, who pointed out that, going back to 1963's The Amazing Spider-Man #1, Peter Parker and Johnny Storm have been close friends. The longtime MCU boss discussed his dream to bring that friendship to live-action now that Marvel Studios can access both characters.
While Feige confirmed there weren't any chemistry reads between Tom Holland and Joseph Quinn (or anyone else eyed to play Johnny Storm), there was, as always, a "blue sky dream" of bringing them together.
The MCU boss declared the young superheroes' friendships as "one of the key relationships in Marvel Comics." While he noted bringing it to screens has never been possible in the past, it is finally "in the realm of possibility."
He proclaimed, "That gets me up in the morning," referring to the increasingly possible notion of uniting not just Spider-Man and Human Torch but all the key relationships and character crossovers from Marvel Comics:
We didn’t do chemistry reads – but whenever we cast, it is with that blue sky dream in mind of one day being able to do that. And that’s a great example. That’s one of the key relationships in Marvel Comics: Johnny Storm and Peter Parker. But we’ve never been able to come close to it before. And now, it is in the realm of possibility. That’s exciting. That gets me up in the morning.
It seems it isn't just Feige who wants to bring Peter Parker and Johnny Storm together on screen. Quinn declared it "would be amazing" to do so while praising Holland as the "best Spider-Man ever."
Spider-Man & Human Torch's Long-Awaited Crossover Is Coming
With the MCU reportedly set for a soft reboot after 2027's Avengers: Secret Wars, the biggest pillars of Marvel Comics (the Avengers, X-Men, Fantastic Four, and Spider-Man) should finally collide into one cohesive universe for Phase 7.
Fans will get a taste of that connectivity when the Multiverse comes together in Doomsday, albeit with six returning X-Men heroes from the Fox era, before a new class of mutant heroes arrives with the reboot in Phase 7.
Once Kevin Feige finally has the whole MCU under one roof, the doors are open to any and every crossover, including Peter Parker and Johnny Storm. While that friendship could be realized in Doomsday, Tom Holland's role in Avengers 5 is up in the air, as the logistics were still being worked out as of May 2025.
It seems likely they will cross paths in one of the coming Avengers movies, possibly opening the doors to a future crossover in Phase 7 and beyond. After all, Feige calling their dynamic "one of the key relationships in Marvel Comics" proves he is aware of its significance and is hopefully eager to adapt it.
Marvel Studios' four Spider-Man movies have all followed a divisive trend of pairing Tom Holland's Peter Parker with another MCU character, as part of the agreement with Sony Pictures. Next up, that trend will see Jon Bernthal's Punisher, Mark Ruffalo's Hulk, and Florence Pugh's Yelena Belova appear in Brand New Day.
While the MCU has been criticized for featuring characters with no major relation to Spider-Man in the comics in his movies, the next flick could break that trend. Perhaps the Fantastic Four, or at least Johnny Storm, could play that supporting hero role in Spider-Man 5 after they meet in Avengers: Doomsday or Secret Wars.
