Marvel Studios is back on top of the movie world after an impressive showing at San-Diego Comic-Con 2022, which included news on more than a dozen projects from Phases 4, 5, and 6. However, one character that didn’t get a lot of love was one of Marvel’s most popular heroes - Tom Holland’s Spider-Man.
When fans last saw the web-slinger, he got his first taste of what the Multiverse had to offer as Holland’s Spider-Man: No Way Home became the third-highest grossing movie in MCU history. Now, he continues on as a complete enigma in a world that doesn’t know Peter Parker exists, but people still have their friendly neighborhood Spider-Man swinging through New York and protecting his city.
With Sony Pictures still in charge of Spidey’s movie rights, it will almost certainly be Sony that announces any official future plans for Tom Holland’s solo movies in the newly-named Multiverse Saga. However, Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige wasn’t about to let an entire MCU presentation go by without reminding fans that Spidey is still very much in play.
Spider-Man's 'Street-Level' Future
In a chat with MTV News' Josh Horowitz, Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige gave a quick shout-out to Spider-Man when discussing the MCU's future.
When asked about Harry Styles' future as Eros after Eternals, Feige listed off a number of characters who will continue to have a presence moving into Phase 5. Most notably, however, he mentioned that "Spidey [is] going into the street level heroes:"
"The adventures of Eros and Pip is something very exciting for us. You talk about Ghost Rider, we’ve got Blade, we’ve got Doctor Strange, we’ve got the supernatural angles, we’ve got the street-level with our announcement of Daredevil, and of course, Spidey going into the street-level heroes. And cosmic, and that’s where our friends Eros and Pip live."
These comments seem to suggest that Spider-Man 4 could be a smaller-scale adventure in comparison to the Multiverse-spanning adventure of Spider-Man: No Way Home, placing Spidey firmly in New York City's seedy underbelly of crime. The street-level nature of the webhead's next story could support fan speculation about the movie's potential villain, particularly amid Jacob Batalon stirring the pot regarding a potential appearance as Hobgobiln.
News on Spider-Man's next MCU solo adventure was scarce during Marvel's Hall H mega panel at San Diego Comic-Con, but it is clear that Feige and the rest of Marvel Studios are clear in where they want the character to head, in spite of reports that Tom Holland has yet to sign on to the project.
Sony also seems keen to get the ball rolling, with chairman Tom Rothman recently saying the studio "hope[s] to get working" on Spider-Man 4 soon.
Spider-Man Will Return to MCU Soon
Looking at the whole picture, Feige’s mention of Spidey’s status as a “street-level” hero doesn’t reveal a ton of information, but does indicate that his next film won't be as bombastic as Spider-Man films past. Above all else though, it’s clear that he always has Peter Parker on his mind, and the web-slinger being a part of the listed group certainly paints a bright future ahead for him.
In the animated realm, Spider-Man: Freshman Year will throw Spidey alongside Charlie Cox’s Daredevil - an exciting development on screen after their short interaction in No Way Home. It’s still a mystery who else’s paths he will cross in his next planned trilogy, but the powers that be at Sony and Marvel are already formulating that next storyline.
Seeing Spider-Man team up with Daredevil more is certainly something that fans want, and with Feige mentioning Peter Parker as a street-level hero, that could very well be the case moving forward.
Last year's Hawkeye already set up Alaqua Cox's Echo spin-off, which is rumored to feature Cox's Daredevil, and there are hints that more heroes like Jessica Jones and Luke Cage could be on the way as well. Spider-Man teaming up with those characters or others would certainly give him a new dynamic, and Feige seems to tell a lot with that comment by only saying as little as he did.
Although no release date is set yet, Spider-Man 4 is already in the early stages of development while Holland takes a temporary break from the MCU. But simply hearing Feige mention the hero will have fans excited about another set of quippy web-slinging antics in the next three solo Spider-Man stories.
Spider-Man: No Way Home is now available on Blu-ray and via digital release, as are Holland’s first two Spider-Man movies. The movie will also return to theaters from August through September with the extended "The More Fun Stuff Version."
