Tom Holland's Spider-Man could swing back into theaters sooner than we thought – and it's got nothing to do with the character cameoing in another Marvel movie.
According to industry insider Jeff Sneider, the next Spider-Man movie – currently titled Spider-Man 4 – is due to start filming in September or October 2024. Sneider made the claim on his own website TheInSneider.com.
If that's the case, we could see Holland's Peter Parker make his Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) return sooner than anticipated. Indeed, with the 2023 Hollywood writers and actors strikes, plus Holland's self-imposed acting break, delaying production on the webslinger's next film, we didn't expect to see a follow-up to Spider-Man: No Way Home anytime soon.
However, with Sneider suggesting that a production start date has been set and that Justin Lin – most famous for his work on the Fast & Furious films – is apparently in talks to direct, principal photography could begin before the year ends.
So far what’s been out there is accurate. If I had to give my input, it would be that a middle ground is being negotiated by having the story involve both elements. And right now, Sony’s aiming for a 2025 release, which would be very unlikely to work at this current stage. https://t.co/D0LgfBnhVTMarch 1, 2024
Now, it should be noted that none of the above information is official. But if some or all of it is accurate, it would represent a quick turnaround on the Marvel Phase 5 movie's development.
Other credible industry insiders, including The Cosmic Circus' Alex Perez, suggested that Marvel and Sony were still in discussions about Spider-Man 4's plot as recently as March 2 (see the X/Twitter post above). Indeed, Perez claimed that the studios were trying to find a "middle ground" between Sony wanting another multiverse-centric film and Marvel arguing the case for a more intimate street-level focused one. If the studios are now eyeing a late-2024 filming schedule, then, they must have come to an agreement in the past few weeks.
I've reached out to Marvel and Sony for comment on Sneider's claims, but I hadn't received a response by the time of publication. I'll update this article if I receive a reply.
A no-go on Euphoria season 3 for HBO – yet
So, what's behind the sudden, rapid movement on Spider-Man 4's development? It seems it's all down to Euphoria season 3, the next installment in the hit HBO drama that Zendaya – who's also appeared in every Spider-Man MCU film – stars in.
First, a bit of background: last Sunday (March 24), World of Reel's Jordan Ruimy claimed that work on Euphoria's next season had been canceled. The show's young cast, including Zendaya, Sydney Sweeney, Jacob Elordi, and Hunter Schafer – all of whom have gone on to achieve success with other projects – were reportedly told that they were free to pursue other opportunities, too, leading Euphoria fans to fear the worst over the Max show's future. However, HBO confirmed (via Variety) that, while filming on season 3 was delayed, the studio was "committed" to bringing creator Sam Levinson and the cast back for another outing.
Right, so what's this got to do with Spider-Man 4? Per Sneider, with Euphoria on hiatus, Zendaya's schedule has opened up – an unexpected development that's apparently led Sony and Marvel to ramp up production on Spidey's next live-action film. The pair reportedly want Zendaya's MJ (Peter's love interest from the other MCU movies) back for the fourth Holland-led flick, hence their desire to shoot said movie before Zendaya gets wrapped up in principal photography on the next season of Euphoria, aka one of the best Max shows.
Understood? Great, I'm going for a lie down – all of this is enough to make your head spin. Speaking of spinning (the web-spinning variety, that is), if you're not feeling dizzy after all of this speculation, you'll want to read our guides to watching the Spider-Man movies in order and/or what the best Spider-Man movies are.
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- Find out if any of the Spider-Man movies made it onto our best Disney Plus movies list
