We’ve been talking about Spider-Man 4 a lot lately, as rumors have indicated Sony and Marvel might soon start shooting the sequel they confirmed while No Way Home was still in theaters. However, Sony and Marvel have not shared any updates since 2021, and last year’s industry strikes have certainly not helped get the movie closer to production.
Things might change soon, and Sony is ready to tease some of its upcoming Spidey adventures, including Spider-Verse 3 and Spider-Man 4. That’s a sign that things are moving forward with the latter. After all, we already know Beyond the Spider-Verse is in the making.
While Sony didn’t provide a release date for Spider-Man 4, we have a Marvel insider making a familiar claim. Spider-Man 4 will start production this fall so that it can hit theaters about a year later. Before I can tell you more and why I worry about Spider-Man 4, I’ll tell you that some spoilers might follow below.
Spider-Man 4 rumors
Let’s get the easy part out of the way. Daniel Richtman is the insider who said about a month ago that Spider-Man 4 will begin filming this September.
At the time, we saw speculation that Marvel might give the sequel Blade’s 2025 release date. Spider-Man 4 could hit theaters on November 7th if that happens. A Christmas premiere isn’t possible unless Sony wants to fight Avatar 3 at the box office.
Richtman is back with a similar claim, but this time, he has a release window for Spider-Man 4. The movie would hit production this fall and get a fall 2025 release date. November 7th would make sense, considering that Marvel has a busy 2025 ahead. Aside from Blade, three other MCU projects are set to hit theaters.
The rumor makes sense, considering all the annoying Spider-Man 4 reports we’ve heard so far. Supposedly, Marvel and Sony did not agree on the sequel. Sony wanted Spider-Man 4 to be as big as No Way Home and premiere in 2025.
Marvel reportedly wanted a more toned-down story, fitting the soft reboot that Spider-Man 4 is supposed to be. Kevin Feige & Co. also wanted a 2026 release for the sequel.
Reports said some sort of compromise had been reached. The movie is moving to production this year to make that 2025 premiere, but it won’t necessarily be the big multiverse adventure that Sony might have wanted.
By that, I mean having Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield cameo again in an MCU Spider-Man movie. That would be a terrible idea, but not a surprising one from a studio that can’t make any good Sony’s Spider-Man Universe (SSU) movies. Just look at Madam Web.
Sony’s recent teasers
Richtman’s claims aside, Deadline talked extensively with Sony Motion Pictures Group chairman Tom Rothman, and Spidey inadvertently came up.
While answering a question about studios making great movies and handling IP, Rothman addressed the upcoming Spider-Verse 3 and Spider-Man 4 projects. And this is the part that makes me feel uneasy about Spider-Man 4:
The larger point I’m making is that I think a healthy slate going forward is not going to be one side of the divide or the other. It’s going to have a balance of big IP solid sequels. Let me tell you when the last of the Spider-Verse movies comes with Phil Lord and Chris Miller, it’s going to be a significant event, as will the next Tom Holland Spider-Man film. And when all the Karate Kid storylines come together with Ralph Macchio and Jackie Chan and a new young karate kid. For those fans, that’s going to be a significant moment. We have those. The third and last Venom is going to be huge.
I agree with Rothman, Beyond the Spider-Verse will absolutely be a massive event for Sony. I think the Spider-Verse will be the best trilogy Sony ever made, and I want to see more of that.
What I don’t think we need right now is Sony going out of its way to make Spider-Man 4 a “significant event” movie. It’s very likely any Tom Holland-led movie that’s part of the MCU will top $1 billion at the box office. That’s how much fans love this variant of Spider-Man, which is only possible because of the integration into the MCU. Then again, it’s Rothman’s job to drive up excitement for the sequel.
Spider-Man: No Way Home was the end of the first MCU Spider-Man trilogy; therefore, it had to be an event. Spider-Man 4 doesn’t need to try to outdo its predecessor. Instead, Sony and Marvel should save that for the inevitable Spider-Man 5 and Spider-Man 6 that will follow.
As for the last Venom movie being “huge,” Sony, please. I’d love it if the studio could pull it off. I doubt it’ll happen.
Speculation aside, the fact that Sony is ready to tease Spider-Man 4 signals a release date announcement might be imminent.
