Is Spider-Man 4 in the works? Explained

Spider-Man 4 is perhaps one of the most anticipated Marvel Cinematic Universe projects. Tom Holland has been the current face of the Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man since 2016. Making his debut in Captain America: Civil War, the star has managed to stick around and deliver on fans' expectations so far.

The Spider-Man series has been highly profitable for Marvel Studios ever since the release of Spider-Man: Homecoming. The latest film in the series was Spider-Man: No Way Home, which connected Sam Raimi's Spider-Man universe and Sony's The Amazing Spider-Man universe with the MCU. The film became the highest-grossing film of 2021.

Tom Holland, Andrew Garfield, and Tobey McGuire as different versions of Spider-Man (Image via Marvel)

Despite their popularity, the Spider-Man films also have a bad track record with sequels. For instance, The Amazing Spider-Man 3 was announced, but never saw the light of day in production.

Similarly, there's concept art that was recently revealed that shows actor John Malkovich as the Vulture for Raimi's Spider-Man 4. The MCU definitely has more in store for the wall-crawling superhero, but is the project already under development? Is Tom Holland going to continue his journey as Spider-Man, or is he planning to pass the baton to Miles Morales? You'll find the answers to these questions, and more, in this article.

---

Kevin Feige has confirmed plans for Spider-Man 4

Spider-Man 4 seems to be generating quite a buzz despite showing little signs of life so far. The film didn't even get a mention on Marvel's San Diego Comic-Con panel, which doesn't exactly inspire hope.

However, in a November 2021 interview, Amy Pascal, who has served as a producer on MCU's Spider-Man trilogy, revealed to Fandango that there is indeed going to be a Spider-Man 4, and maybe a 5 and 6 too. Pascal said:

"This is not the last movie that we are going to make with Marvel – [this is not] the last Spider-Man movie. We are getting ready to make the next Spider-Man movie with Tom Holland and Marvel. We’re thinking of this as three films, and now we’re going to go on to the next three. This is not the last of our MCU movies."

Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige later confirmed in December 2021 that Spider-Man 4 will happen. He revealed that they had started conversations with Sony about the future of Spider-Verse, and are planning where to pick up Spidey's journey from the end of Spider-Man: No Way Home:

Amy [Pascal] and I, and Disney and Sony are talking about [the next movie]. Yes, we’re actively beginning to develop where the story heads next, which I only say outright because I don’t want fans to go through any separation trauma like what happened after Far From Home. That will not be occurring this time.

Sony has been busy developing its Venomverse, as Venom 3 is already in the works. However, after the critical and box-office failure of Jared Leto and Matt Smith starrer Morbius, they're treading with caution. Kraven The Hunter is the next big Sony Marvel project and is set to come out on October 6, 2023.

---

Spider-Man 4 release speculation

Marvel Studios unveiled their release schedule for Phase 5 and Phase 6 of the MCU at Comic-Con. Many fans are spreading the theory that an empty slot on the schedule between Captain America: New World Order and the Thunderbolts film is going to be reserved for Spider-Man 4.

Tom Holland also revealed to EW that he knows Sony and Marvel are working something out. However, he's out of the loop about what that project will entail.

CBR, however, reported that Spider-Man 4 is in "advanced" pre-production, though recommended that the report should be taken with a grain of salt as there's no real official word attached to it at all.

It might be that the production is being kept a secret, but as far as the general public is concerned, there is no concrete timeline for when the film will come out. Is the film under development? Well, sort of.

However, before there is any announcement about a director or scriptwriter joining the team, it's pretty safe to say that Spider-Man 4 is not currently under development.