Spider-Man 4: Marvel movie release date, likely cast, and more news and rumors about the MCU Phase 6 film

Spider-Man 4 is officially in development. The only superhero besides Thor to get a fourth solo movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), there’s clearly more story left to tell for Tom Holland’s Peter Parker/Spider-Man – and we can’t wait to see what Marvel and Sony are cooking up for the titular hero’s next big-screen adventure.

Understandably, details are thin on the ground right now, but we do know some things about the Marvel Phase 6 film. In this guide, we’ve spun an intricate web of the latest news and rumors about Spider-Man‘s forthcoming flick, including its confirmed release date, likely cast, possible storyline, and more. Potential spoilers follow for Spider-Man 4, so proceed at your own risk.

In late October Sony and Marvel confirmed Spider-Man 4 would swing into theaters on July 24, 2026.

Just days earlier, Tom Holland shared an exciting Spider-Man 4 filming update on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon – the British actor revealing that principal photography would start in summer 2025 (that’s autumn 2025 for any southern hemisphere readers). Industry insider DanielRPK suggests it’ll start shooting in late May, while The Hollywood Reporter and Variety both claim Daniel Destin Cretton, who directed Shang-Chi, has signed on to helm this movie.

In short, shooting the MCU movie and releasing it in cinemas worldwide is going to be a tight turnaround. Let’s hope Sony and Marvel can pull it off without forcing its cast and crew to crunch.

Surprising no one a Spider-Man 4 trailer isn’t available yet. In our view, we won’t see one until early 2026, either. We’ll update this section once a trailer is released.

Sony and Marvel haven’t announced who’ll appear in Spider-Man 4 yet, but here’s who we expect to do so:

Tom Holland as Peter Parker/Spider-ManZendaya as MJ

As the current incumbent of Spidey’s legendary red-and-blue superhero suit, Holland is nailed on to star in his fourth solo MCU film. In an October 2024 edition of the Rich Roll podcast, Holland namedropped Zendaya and heavily implied that his real-life girlfriend, who played MJ in Spider-Man’s three previous standalone MCU films, will have a supporting role in the movie. The Hollywood Reporter also claims Zendaya has quietly signed on to appear. Jacob Batalon’s Ned, aka Peter Parker’s best friend, could also feature, but his name hasn’t been bandied around like Holland and Zendaya’s have.

That trio aside, it’s unclear which other Marvel characters will show up. We’ll dive into this more in our plot section but, depending on how Avengers: Doomsday ends, some of the webslinger’s fellow heroes could also appear. There’s previous form for them doing so, such as Doctor Strange having a small but important role in Spider-Man: No Way Home. Expect Spider-Man 4 to similarly include other MCU heroes if it’s a sequel to Avengers 5 and precursor to Avengers: Secret Wars.

If – and it’s a big if – Spider-Man’s fourth standalone MCU outing isn’t a multiverse-centric film, it could introduce new characters from the webhead’s illustrious comic book history. Such individuals could include Harry Osborn, Amadeus Cho, and even the MCU’s version of Gwen Stacy.

Full spoilers follow for Spider-Man: No Way Home.

Spider-Man 4 doesn’t have a story synopsis right now, but there are a few things we already know about it.

For starters, the screenplay is still being written, but Holland seems incredibly excited about the plot’s direction. Speaking on the Rich Roll podcast, Holland said: “It needs work, but the writers are doing a great job. I read it three weeks ago and it really lit a fire in me. Zendaya and I sat down, read it together, and, at times, we were bouncing around the living room”. Briefly elaborating on that answer to Good Morning America, Holland added: “The idea is crazy. It’s a little different to anything we’ve done before, but I think the fans are gonna really respond to it.”

To us, the phrase “a little different” makes it sound like the MCU’s fourth Spider-Man movie will re-tread old ground. Given it’ll be sandwiched between Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars, the most logical assumption we can make is that it’ll be another multiversal affair for Holland’s wallcrawler. The 2021 Spider-Man: No Way Home brought three generations of Spider-Men together, as well as various villains from Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield’s stints as the iconic superhero, so it’s highly unlikely we’ll get a carbon copy of that narrative. Given No Way Home has made almost $2 billion at the global box office (per Box Office Mojo), though, we could certainly see Sony and Marvel trying to get Maguire and Garfield on board for another money-spinning team-up film.

For what it’s worth Garfield has rejected claims he’ll appear in Spider-Man 4, telling IndieWire: “I mean, like the internet is a big place. I think there’s a lot of people who will just say anything to get clicks. So you might have been duped [about me appearing], I’m afraid.”

Regardless of whether Maguire and Garfield show up if Spider-Man 4 is set between Doomsday and Secret Wars, its narrative will be dictated by whatever happens in the former. Indeed, Avengers 5 could take inspiration from 2015’s Secret Wars comic storyline, which sees Victor von Doom – played by none other than former Iron Man star Robert Downey Jr. – become God Emperor of the Marvel multiverse and create Battleworld, a patchwork planet comprising fragments from multiple Earths following the multiverse’s collapse. Spider-Man could also get his iconic black symbiote suit as part of Doomsday‘s plot, which he acquired in a different Secret Wars comic series that debuted in 1984.

On the off-chance that it isn’t a multiverse-based film, however, Spidey’s next silver-screen adventure could be a more grounded, almost street-level offering. Indeed, No Way Home‘s ending, which saw Doctor Strange cast a spell that made the entire world forget Peter Parker was Spider-Man, allowed the titular character to go back to being the friendly neighborhood hero he was before being thrust into the limelight in 2016’s Captain America: Civil War.

There are a couple of stand-out, non-multiverse directions that Spider-Man 4‘s plot could go in, then, if Sony and Marvel decide not to make No Way Home 2.0. One option is seeing Peter enroll at a New York-based college and marry his crimefighting career with his studies, all the while keeping tabs on MJ, who also forgot that Peter was Spider-Man when Strange’s spell was cast.

Another possibility is Peter gets employed as, say, a photographer at The Daily Bugle, combines his two jobs, and tangles with more villains/anti-heroes from his iconic comic book rogues gallery, such as Green Goblin, Doc Ock, and Black Cat. Alternatively, Sony and Marvel could make fans’ dreams come true by teaming up Spider-Man and Daredevil on the big screen to take down Wilson Fisk/Kingpin. With Daredevil: Born Again set to debut in March 2025, whether it’s blind optimism or not, we aren’t ruling out this possibility – especially after they briefly crossed paths in No Way Home.

You can read our Spider-Man movies in order article for an in-depth guide on where to watch the wallcrawler’s eight previous solo films. However, if you want a quick rundown on which of the world’s best streaming services you can catch them on in the US, UK, and Australia, read on:

Spider-Man (2002) – Disney Plus (US and UK); Binge (Australia)Spider-Man 2 (2004) – Disney Plus (US and UK); Binge and Foxtel (Australia)Spider-Man 3 (2007) – Disney Plus (US and UK); Netflix and Binge (Australia)The Amazing Spider-Man (2012) – Disney Plus (US and UK); Netflix (Australia)The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014) – Disney Plus (US and UK); Netflix and Foxtel (Australia)Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017) – Disney Plus (US and UK); Netflix and Foxtel (Australia)Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019) – Disney Plus (US and UK); Netflix and Prime Video (Australia)Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021) – Fubo (US); Sky (UK); Foxtel (Australia)

Long story short: nobody knows. As we mentioned, Spider-Man 4‘s plot brief won’t be revealed for many months and, even when it is, we’ll have to see the movie in theaters to know how it ends and how it’ll set up events to come in Avengers: Secret Wars.

It’s equally unclear if Tom Holland will return for an unprecedented fifth solo outing in the MCU post-Secret Wars. The A-lister has spoken of his desire to help bring Miles Morales – the Spider-Man who exists in Marvel’s Ultimate comic book universe – to the MCU, which may be possible if Avengers 6 causes a complete reset of Marvel’s cinematic juggernaut as we know it.

If Morales, one of the main characters in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, aka two of the best Spider-Man movies, winds up in the MCU, Holland has expressed interest in mentoring whoever portrays a live-action Miles. Speaking on the Rich Roll podcast, he said: “I’d love to do for a young lad what Robert Downey Jr. did for me”. Don’t be shocked, then, if Holland returns for a fifth Spider-Man film to pass on the torch to whoever portrays Miles Morales in the MCU – if that’s the direction Marvel Studios wants to go in.

For more Marvel coverage read our guides on The Fantastic Four: First Steps, Daredevil: Born Again, how to watch the Marvel movies in order, and the best Marvel movies.