Marvel Studios has been responsible for bringing many actors and filmmakers to the forefront of Hollywood; the Russo brothers were sitcom directors before Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Tom Holland was an unknown actor in his teens. Among this ever-growing list is Jon Watts, the director responsible for bringing the MCU's Spider-Man trilogy to life.
Since Spider-Man: No Way Home became one of the biggest movies of all time, Watts has built himself a busy schedule for the coming years. The filmmaker is taking the lead on Star Wars: Skeleton Crew for Disney+, developing a blockbuster for Apple TV+ with Brad Pitt and George Clooney, and producing Final Destination 6.
Even with Watts' growing roster of upcoming projects, many remain optimistic that he will be back for Spider-Man 4 as Sony and Marvel Studios reunite for a second wall-crawler trilogy. Now, the filmmaker's next movie has been announced as he joins the Warner Bros. ship.
Spider-Man's Jon Watts Joins Warner Bros. Project
According to an exclusive report from Deadline, Spider-Man director Jon Watts has signed on to produce Disaster Wedding at Warner Bros. The comedy flick comes from breakout director Max Barbakow, following the success of 2020's Palm Springs.
Writer Dave Holstein is currently at work on rewriting the original script from Jeff Kaplan and Ian Springer. Watts will be joined as a producer by Andrew Kortschak. Jesse Ehrman and Chrystal Lee will oversee the project on behalf of Warner Bros.
Disaster Wedding joins Watts' expansive roster of projects that includes Star Wars: Skeleton Crew, an untitled movie with George Clooney and Brad Pitt for Apple TV+, and Final Destination 6. There remains no word on the director's future with Tom Holland's Spider-Man franchise ahead of the fourth installment.
Will Jon Watts Return for Spider-Man 4?
Having found fame from the success of his Spider-Man trilogy, Jon Watts has set himself up for a busy few years with two producing credits, a writer/director job, and developing a Star Wars series. With all those projects in mind, one can only wonder whether he will have time to direct Spider-Man 4 when it eventually comes to fruition.
There are currently no signs of Spider-Man 4 entering production anytime soon as Tom Holland has reportedly yet to renew his contract and Sony has yet to formally announce the sequel. As there has been no indication of any strong progress on a script or hiring, production is unlikely to begin before late 2023 at the earliest, placing the release into late 2024 or 2025.
So, with the Spider-Man franchise still on hiatus, Watts' schedule may well be more open by the time the fourth installment comes around. The filmmaker's latest hiring also adds to the explanation behind Watts' departure from Fantastic Four as he takes time away from the Marvel universe to develop other projects.
Nonetheless, Watts is clearly building strong connections across Hollywood projects in the works for Warner Bros., Disney, Apple, and possibly Sony. Who knows where that will take him in the future, but with a major Star Wars series in the works in the MandoVerse, Watts clearly isn't shying away from working in the biggest franchises.
Spider-Man 4 has yet to set an official release date, but Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige recently confirmed Peter Parker's future street-level direction in the MCU.
