Making a Spider-Man movie is no easy feat, especially when it has to fit into the continuity of a sprawling cinematic universe. It’s an issue Marvel has struggled with since 2016, and one that continues to plague the franchise as it gears up for Spider-Man 4. Though the film is finally ramping up to production, Marvel is still searching for a way to continue Spider-Man’s story after 2021’s No Way Home. The solution to that problem may lie in a familiar strategy, but it may also undo all the progress Spidey made in his last solo outing.
Per The Hollywood Reporter, Spider-Man 4 is slated to premiere on July 24, 2026. That’s just a few months after the next Avengers movie, Doomsday, hits theaters, so the film will likely serve as a follow-up to that story. This won’t be the first time a Spidey movie reacted to the fallout of an Avengers adventure. Spider-Man: Far From Home was released three months after Avengers: Endgame, and followed Peter as he mourned the loss of his mentor, Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.).
On paper, that made sense, as it’s Stark who first brings a younger Spider-Man into a larger world. But that move also highlighted Spidey’s lack of independence within the MCU, and Spider-Man 4 could be following that same pattern all over again.
Unlike his predecessors, Holland’s Spider-Man is always tethered to other, bigger ideas. He fits in fine as a small part of the larger MCU, but he constantly has to compete for the spotlight in his standalone adventures. Far From Home was a coda to Endgame, while No Way Home brought the Spider-Men of old into the MCU.
No Way Home made the smart choice to reset the character after his brush with the multiverse, positioning him as a street-level hero with zero ties to the Avengers. Fans assumed that the next Spider-Man film would build on that idea and take Holland’s webslinger on his first true solo adventure — but by setting Spider-Man 4 after the new Avengers movie, Marvel could be undoing one of its best decisions yet. It would be weird for the movie that arrives right after Doomsday to ignore its consequences, but why hit a hero’s reset button if you’re not going to take advantage of it?
Placing Spider-Man 4 after Doomsday also robs the Avengers film of some suspense. Now, no matter what happens in the team-up movie, we know Spidey will have to survive to lead his next solo film. As the wallcrawler is Marvel’s most popular character, his fate wasn’t really in question, but it would be nice to maintain a bit of mystery. It feels like Marvel hasn’t learned anything from its first Spider-Man trilogy; of all the major players in the MCU, Spidey feels the least developed. He had the chance to build out his own world after No Way Home, but that possibility now seems unlikely.
Even if Spider-Man 4 does fall back on old habits, it should still be a lot of fun to watch. There’s also still a chance that the upcoming film can reconcile a friendly neighborhood wallcrawler with the larger ramifications of Doomsday. We’ll find out in a couple of years, but hopefully Marvel isn’t making Spidey just another interchangeable hero in a massive roster. Both the character and his fans deserve better.
