Notice! This article contains spoilers for Venom: The Last Dance.Tom Holland Spider-Man 4 could include a wide variety of exciting characters from Marvel Comics and live-action history. After a long time without updates, the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s next Spider-Man film is moving full steam ahead. from Holland Spider-Man 4 will begin filming next summer, with its release date is July 24, 2026. Following Spider-Man: No Way HomeIn the end, there are a few different paths for the sequel.
What is known for sure is that Marvel will once again include exciting characters alongside Peter Parker. The MCU’s Spider-Man films have featured at least one other major player in the franchise. This trend will likely continue with Spider-Man 4and there are some good options for who can be chosen. Peter Parker Spider-Man: No Way Home Ultimately, the MCU’s casting trend for Spider-Man films, the Multiverse Saga and more suggests a large group of characters who could appear in Spider-Man 4.
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Andrew Garfield’s Spider-Man
A multiverse event
There are rumors of the Spider-Man multiverse for the film. After 2021 Spider-Man: No Way Home became one of the greatest films of all timegrossing nearly $2 billion worldwide, Marvel and Sony need to think about how to bring back Andrew Garfield and Tobey Maguire. Although both can be seen as a package deal, Spider-Man 4 it could also include just one of them.
Garfield could serve in the role of Holland’s Spider-Man’s older brother and help him overcome the sadness of losing MJ as the two deal with a multiversal threat.
Garfield’s version of Spider-Man could relate to Holland’s Peter Parker in a few ways. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 saw Garfield’s Peter lose the love of his life, Gwen Stacy. While Zendaya’s MJ is alive in the MCU, she doesn’t remember who Peter Parker is. Garfield could serve in the role of Holland’s Spider-Man’s older brother and help him overcome the sadness of losing MJ as the two deal with a multiversal threat.
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Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man
Another Multiverse Return
Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man could also return for another multiverse event in Spider-Man 4. This would allow the actor finally be part of a fourth Spider-Man film after its own announced Spider-Man 4 with director Sam Raimi was canceled several years ago. Maguire’s Spider-Man could be used alongside Andrew Garfield’s Peter Parker or alone, being able to help Tom Holland’s Spider-Man in a fundamental way.
Maguire’s Peter Parker Hit Rock Bottom as the MCU’s Spider-Man. Like Holland’s Peter, he also moved alone into a small apartment and distanced himself from his loved ones, although this had to do with the Venom symbiote in his case rather than the ramifications of Doctor Strange’s spell. Spider-Man: No Way Home like the Netherlands. Maguire’s Peter can help Holland’s Spider-Man navigate this new stage in his life and recover.
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Harry Osborn
Peter Parker’s new best friend
Harry Osborn is one of the most important characters in Spider-Man comics. He is often Peter’s best friend, a role that has been portrayed in Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield’s Spider-Man film franchises. In the MCU, Jacob Batalon’s Ned Leeds filled this role in Tom Holland’s first trilogy. However, Ned doesn’t remember who Peter is, and this could lead to another character becoming Spider-Man’s best friend.
Harry Osborn would be perfect for the role. At the end of Spider-Man: No Way Homethe camera panned to a book that showed Peter Parker was studying for an exam that would allow him to finish high school. As such, he should be in college in Spider-Man 4. Since Harry and Peter met in the comics in that setting, Harry Osborn has become a possible character for the MCU film.
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Gwen Stacy
Peter’s new love interest
Following the same logic as the possible inclusion of Harry Osborn in Spider-Man 4 It’s Gwen Stacy. Just like Harry, the first time Peter and Gwen met in the comics was when they were both at Empire State University. The same could be true for the MCU versions of the characters, with Marvel Studios differing from the The Amazing Spider-Man franchise, like Andrew Garfield’s Peter met Emma Stone’s Gwen in high school.
Spider-Man movies |
Year of release |
---|---|
Spider-Man |
2002 |
Spider-Man 2 |
2004 |
Spider-Man 3 |
2007 |
The Amazing Spider-Man |
2012 |
The Amazing Spider-Man 2 |
2014 |
Spider-Man: Homecoming |
2017 |
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse |
2018 |
Spider-Man: Far From Home |
2019 |
Spider-Man: No Way Home |
2021 |
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse |
2023 |
Spider-Man 4 (MCU) |
2026 |
Since Peter Parker chose not to tell MJ about his past to protect her, the character will be single in the future. Spider-Man 4. Gwen Stacy could serve as Peter’s new love interest in the MCU. The Amazing Spider-Man the franchise showed how well this can work in live actionand having such an important character from the comics join Spider-Man 4 it would be very exciting.
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Johnny Storm by Joseph Quinn
A different kind of best friend for Peter
After a long time, Marvel’s First Family is finally home. The Fantastic Four: Getting Started It’s the MCU’s biggest release in 2025introducing the beloved comic book team to the Marvel Studios franchise. Spider-Man and the Fantastic Four are deeply linked to the comics, and with the team now joining the MCU, it’s likely that Marvel will repeat that bond.
Johnny Storm and Peter Parker are best friends, with The Human Torch has lived alongside Spider-Man for some time in the comics. Since Tom Holland and Joseph Quinn are around the same age, Peter and Johnny could end up becoming friends in college. The Human Torch and Harry Osborn could even coexist in Peter’s life if he also debuted, as Johnny Storm has the unique angle of also being a superhero, so he would understand Spider-Man in a way that few can.
5
Doctor Doom, by Robert Downey Jr.
The main villain of the Multiverse saga
Robert Downey Jr.’s Tony Stark mentored Tom Holland’s Spider-Man in the MCU. So far, it has not been revealed how Marvel will explain the fact that Downey is back in the MCU as Doctor Doom. Be through Doom becoming an Iron Man variant in the franchise or the character simply sharing the same face as Stark, Peter Parker will be affected by seeing beneath Doom’s mask.
This could lead to the characters forming some kind of relationship in Avengers: Judgment Dayas the villain of the Multiverse Saga could see the opportunity to manipulate Peter. Spider-Man 4 has been confirmed to be released between the next two Avengers films. How is it likely that Avengers: Judgment Day will end with the creation of Battleworld due to the unfolding of Secret Wars, Doctor Doom may appear in Spider-Man 4 if the film takes place in your domain.
4
black cat
A love interest on the streets
While the setup of the Multiverse Saga and the release date of the next Spider-Man film make it seem like a multiversal story is on the way, that might not happen. Spider-Man: No Way Home ended with the tease of a more grounded and personal next adventure for Peter Parker, and if Spider-Man 4 ends up going the street-level route, so the supposed Black Cat would be a perfect complement.
Black Cat is the ideal match for Spider-Man in his current MCU trajectory. The reason Peter decided not to tell MJ about their history together was because he saw that she had been hurt. Spider-Man: No Way Homefinal battle, so he chose to keep her safe. Since Felicia Hardy also lives in the same dangerous world that Peter doesthey could connect throughout their double lives in Spider-Man 4.
3
Shang-Chi by Simu Liu
Spider-Man 4’s Most Likely MCU Crossover Character
Every MCU Spider-Man film has included at least one MCU crossover character. Spider-Man: Homecoming there was Robert Downey Jr.’s Iron Man, Spider-Man: Far From Home featured Samuel L. Jackson’s Nick Fury and Cobie Smulders’ Maria Hill – both revealed to be Skrulls in disguise – and Spider-Man: No Way Home used Benedict Cumberbatch’s Doctor Strange. The same should continue for each new film in Tom Holland’s Spider-Man franchise.
As such, Spider-Man 4The most likely crossover character should be Shang-Chi. The reason for this is simple: Spider-Man 4 will be directed by Destin Daniel Cretton, who was behind Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. Both characters interacted in the comics, with Shang-Chi teaching Spider-Man martial arts. The same could be true of their relationship in the MCU, perhaps continuing with the fact that they were both together in the Avengers before Spider-Man 4 in Avengers: Judgment Day.
2
Knull
A great multiversal villain
Knull recently made his live-action debut in Venom: The Last Dance. Although the film is set in Sony’s Spider-Man Universe, the character could come to the MCU through Knull’s powers to create portals to anywhere in the multiverse. That being said, Knull was still trapped in his prison at the end of Venom: The Last Dance and Spider-Man 4 has the perfect way to get him out of there.
A piece of Venom is still in the MCUand with Tom Holland’s Peter Parker at his lowest, this could relate to him. As the new Venom movie showed, if Spider-Man died in his next film, the symbiote would bring him back to life, creating a new Codex that could free Knull from his prison. If Spider-Man 4 it’s truly a multiverse event, so Knull is its perfect villain.
1
Tom Hardy’s Poison
Eddie Brock and Venom may meet again
Venom: The Last Dance shockingly ended with Eddie Brock alone after Venom sacrificed himself to kill the Xenophages. While SSU poison is apparently deadThe part of him that remained in the MCU is still alive. Perhaps after bonding with Tom Holland’s Spider-Man, he could sense Eddie out there and teleport him back to the MCU like he did before.
Tom Hardy wants Venom to fight Spider-Man, just like Tom Holland and the fans, so it will happen at some point. Spider-Man 4 would be the perfect place for them to face each other, with Eddie discovering that Peter got the symbiotegetting Venom back and fighting Spider-Man. The two could then team up to face the film’s real threat, be it Knull or another multiversal evil debuting in Spider-Man 4.
Spider-Man 4 is the first sequel in the MCU’s Spider-Man trilogy, starring Tom Holland as the titular wall-crawler. After erasing his identity from the public’s memory in Spider-Man: No Way Home, Peter Parker continues his crime-fighting adventures without the help of Iron Man’s technology or the support of his former allies.
- Release date
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July 24, 2026
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