Spider-Man 4 could feature many villains like Venom, Kraven, and more, report says

While fans have yet to learn any official information about the wall-crawler's next adventure in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, rumors about it haven't stopped making their way online. Some of them try to break down who'll be the director at the helm of Spider-Man 4, while others indicate who Spidey will fight next. However, most of the conversation has revolved around the story. Kevin Feige and Tom Holland reportedly want to tell a more grounded and personal tale while Sony seems keen on doing a big multiversal crossover once again. And if a new report is to be believed, the two fronts may have finally reached common ground.

Supposedly, Spider-Man 4 will be a "street-level" film which would sure please a lot of fans. However, that decision came with a big compromise. Since the multiverse won't play a big role in the story, Sony wants many fan-favorite villains to show up in the movie. That's a little bit worrying considering many Spider-Man movies have been underwhelming in the past due to being a little too crowded. Sam Rami's Spider-Man 3 and Marc Webb's The Amazing Spider-Man 2 were responsible for ending their respective franchises for this same reason. So could the next wall-crawler movie manage to escape this fate?

Spider-Man 4 could feature Venom, Scorpion, and more villains

According to insider HolyField News on X (formerly Twitter), many antagonistic characters such as Norman Osborn, Venom, Kraven, Scorpion, and Mysterio could show up in the MCU's Spider-Man 4. Interestingly, this falls in line with another rumor that claimed some of these villains would be in the movie, along with Tombstone, Shocker, and Prowler. If these reports turn out to be true, then The Amazing Spider-Man 2 would seem like a very simple movie in comparison.

Interestingly, it isn't mentioned if this Norman Osborn will be different from the character we've seen on the big screen before or if he's set to turn into the Green Goblin at some point in the story. Likewise, it isn't specified if audiences should expect to see the return of Tom Hardy's Eddie Brock and Aaron Taylor-Johnson's Kraven, or if there will be new variants of them. But even then, there are a lot of villains for Peter Parker to face alone so, by all means, he should get as much help as possible.

Miles Morales will supposedly also show up in Spider-Man 4. Fans have been craving to see the Brooklyn teenager in a live-action project for quite some time now, and it looks like it's finally happening. However, while it would be easy to be excited for the likes of Miles, Venom, and Kraven to show up in one single movie, it all tastes bittersweet.

Spider-Man: No Way Home has been the only wall-crawler movie to be able to juggle many characters at once without feeling like a mess. But is it possible for Sony to catch the lightning in a bottle once again? Well, It seems unlikely. Especially when some of the villains rumored to be in the movie haven't been introduced on the big screen before.

If the movie goes over the origin of Tombstone, Scorpion, and The Prowler it would be a very time-consuming task. If it doesn't, then maybe some members of the audience could be confused as to who these antagonists are. And either way, the movie risks being too crowded and not spending too much time with our friendly neighborhood hero. So how does Sony expect to balance these many villains?

Drew Goddard directing the movie with a 2026 release date

According to the same report, Kevin Feige wants Drew Goddard to be at the helm of Spider-Man 4. This wouldn't be the first time the The Cabin in the Woods director has been attached to a Spidey-related project. Back in 2014, he was confirmed to direct a Sinister Six movie planned as a spin-off for The Amazing Spider-Man saga. While the project was ultimately scrapped, surely Drew Goddard spent some time trying to crack the code behind how to balance multiple comic book characters at once. Perhaps that previous experience - for as short as it was - could potentially help him in Spider-Man 4.

Finally, it was also reported that the movie would see an early 2026 release date. That means production should start very close in the future and official announcements could come in soon. So when that happens, we'll be sure to break it all down here in Whatever A Spider Can!