Here's Why We've Heard So Many Spider-Man 4 Rumors Lately

The Spider-Man 4 rumor mill has gone into overdrive with tons of different and often conflicting reports lately, and here's why.
VENOM and VENOM: LET THERE BE CARNAGE, and key art from SPIDER-MAN: FAR FROM HOME.
VENOM and VENOM: LET THERE BE CARNAGE, and key art from SPIDER-MAN: FAR FROM HOME.

The untitled Spider-Man 4 might have yet to begin filming, but we've already heard many different details about it. Insiders have been busy reporting what characters will make a surprise appearance in the film, who will be the big bad, and even what suits the wall-crawler will be sporting. Rumors have been flying left and right non-stop for months now, but there's one major problem: Some of them contradict others. Initially, Spider-Man 4 was reported to be a street-level movie featuring the Kingpin of Crime and the Devil of Hell's Kitchen. However, now it seems it will feature Tom Hardy's Eddie Brock teaming up with the wall-crawler to stop the King of Black himself, Knull. So what exactly is going on?

It's not uncommon for Marvel Cinematic Universe movies to be surrounded by secrecy and, in exchange, have many rumors surrounding them. Granted, some of them are always bound to be incorrect and paint an inaccurate picture. But more often than not, we know what an MCU project is going to be about before its release. However, Spider-Man 4 seems to be a pretty unique case. Multiple sources have all reported on the same thing at one point in time, only for them to say the movie had changed directions later on, and there's a big reason behind this.

The plot of Spider-Man 4 has changed a lot through production

According to reliable insider Daniel Richtman, the story for Spider-Man 4 was originally more grounded than in its current state. This all but confirms what we've heard for months now: At one point, the movie was going to focus on Peter Parker and Matt Murdock teaming up to take down Wilson Fisk along with a group of "street-level" supervillains such as Scorpion and Shocker. However, that vision has shifted into a multiversal adventure in which Venom will play a major role, as teased by Sony Japan itself.

11166654 - SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME
Spider-Man from the multiverse in Columbia Pictures SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME.

The MCU is a huge machine with many interconnected moving pieces. While it's undeniable that a Spider-Man and Daredevil adventure sounds like a no-brainer, we can't forget that Spider-Man 4 is currently "on track" to be released shortly after Avengers: Doomsday. More importantly: Earth's Mightiest Heroes' next movie is rumored to feature the creation of Battleworld; an amalgamation of every Marvel universe in existence including that of Sony's where Tom Hardy's Eddie Brock lives. Context is important in this scenario, so shifting from a big multiversal adventure to a grounded story taking place in Battleworld may feel a bit strange.

Granted, Marvel and Sony could always go the Ant-Man and The Wasp route and say Spider-Man 4 takes place before Avengers: Doomsday — which would be the ideal scenario — but it seems they're far past that point now. Currently, both studios are busy making the script the very best it can be, something that might result in a delay. However, a setback might be the best-case scenario especially if the rumor mill indeed turns out to be true.

Reports indicate that not only Tom Hardy's Eddie Brock will appear in Spider-Man 4, but Andrew Garfield and Tobey Maguire's Spider-Men could be there as well. Besides, we've also heard that Doctor Doom, Scarlet Witch, and Star-Lord could briefly make a cameo too. If just half of these characters end up showing up, then the script needs to be as tight as possible to not make it feel like a crowded mess ala The Amazing Spider-Man 2. Maybe that's the reason Sony and Marvel have spent such a long time stuck in pre-production.

On the bright side, we could still see that grounded team-up between the web-slinger and the man without fear at some point. Spider-Man 4 might not be the place for that grounded adventure, but reports indicate Spider-Man 5 will be. So right now it's just a matter of hoping the MCU's multiverse saga wraps up with a bang, and then we could see the Spidey stop daytime robberies like we once used to.

Spider-Man 4 will be released on Jul. 24, 2026.