No More Multiverse! Bring Tom Holland's Spider-Man back to the streets

With Tom Holland’s NYCC announcement that filming for MCU's Spider-Man 4 is slated to begin in 2025, all anyone can talk about is where the story might go and who might be in it. Teasing from Sony and from Spider-Man adjacent actors have led audiences to believe we’re headed for another multiverse story. While I understand the motive to keep pursuing stories like that, I think it’s the absolute wrong direction for Tom Holland’s Peter Parker.

Since his introduction directly into another hero’s movie, Tom Holland’s stories have never really felt like his. His first solo film, Homecoming, is about trying to emulate Tony Stark and fighting a villain that Tony had made. Then, yes, he eventually comes to the realization that he can make his own way as Spider-Man only to immediately undo it in Avengers: Infinity War. The second solo film, Far From Home, has Peter responding to Tony’s death and then fighting another villain that Tony had made. No Way Home starts with him responding to the fallout of the previous movie and then summoning other Spider-Men with their own stories and their own villains. None of this was ever really about Tom Holland’s Peter Parker.

Part of the problem is how young Tom Holland’s Peter is. All of the stories taking place in the MCU happen when 616 Peter is much older. He had a wife in the Civil War comic book storyline. Spider-Man was the one who inspired Deadpool to join the Weapon X program, having an established career as a hero LONG before he was approached by any Avengers. The MCU starting Peter Parker over in high school really handcuffed them in ways they could incorporate him into the greater narrative and it hasn’t done Tom Holland’s version of the character any favors.

At this point, there aren’t a ton of ways to fix that. But shoving him into another multiverse movie to be overshadowed is definitely the wrong direction. Give him a street-level problem. Take it back to the Netflix Marvel shows where Daredevil has to stop Kingpin and you don’t feel like it’s any less important just because it only takes place on the streets of New York. He hasn’t been our friendly neighborhood Spider-Man since the “Blitzkrieg Bop” montage in Homecoming. If we’re trying to establish a character – and going into movie four, we really should be doing that – it wouldn’t hurt to go back to basics.

And then, if you have to tie him into the greater narrative, put him with heroes he actually has a relationship with. Give us MCU’s Johnny Storm. Bring in Harry Osborn as Peter’s friend. And, later, Deadpool. Like way later. I’m still so annoyed by how young Peter is.

Tom Holland does an amazing job with the material he’s given, and, as a Spider-Man fan himself, he wouldn’t let anything get too out of character for our beloved web-slinger. But he thinks we’re ready to see MCU Miles Morales and I just don’t know if Peter is seasoned enough for that yet.

I guess we’ll see! Spider-Man 4 will be released on July 24, 2026.