Top 3 things that shouldn't happen in Spider-Man 4 (based on rumors)

Over the last few months, multiple rumors regarding Spider-Man 4 have made their way online. Some of them sound simply wonderful, such as Miles Morales finally sharing the screen with Tom Holland's Peter Parker. Others have caused mixed reactions, such as Star-Lord appearing in the movie. However, there are a few that we hope have no truth behind them because otherwise... we'd be in for a potentially controversial fourth installment. So it's time to break down the top three things that shouldn't happen in the wall-crawler's upcoming adventure based on recent reports.

3. The memory erasing spell shouldn't be undone

The ending of Spider-Man: No Way Home is probably one of the best conclusions to any Spidey movie ever made — especially due to its tragic nature. Not only did the whole world forget Peter Parker ever existed, but he lost the only family he had left when Aunt May died. Now he's alone, living in a cheap apartment in New York with no Stark Suits to help him save the day. However, it's also the closest the MCU character has ever been to his comic book counterpart. As such, fans were eager to see him venture into this new era on the big screen, but it seems we'll need to wait even longer.

Back in September, it was reported the memory-erasing spell of Spider-Man: No Way Home would be undone in Spider-Man 4. If that were the case, then it would be very disappointing to see the wall-crawler go back to his previous life with MJ and Ned Leeds — especially because now is the perfect time to spotlight other characters commonly associated with the wall-crawler who haven't had the chance to appear on the big screen. Let Peter meet Felicia Hardy at least for one movie even if he returns with M.J. afterwards. And what about introducing Norman Osborn as his new "guy in the chair"? We could even see the long-awaited Daredevil and Spidey team-up play out.

Forcing Peter to grow out of his close group of friends could introduce many exciting possibilities. However, if the spell is immediately undone, then that door would be closed as we'd see Peter, M.J, and Ned together for the fourth adventure in a row (which wouldn't be all that bad, if we're being totally honest, but it's not the ideal scenario either). Come on, Marvel. Let Peter's decisions have repercussions, and then let those repercussions last at least one movie. That's all we're asking for.

2. Doctor Doom shouldn't make an appearance

Is it too much to ask for a proper Spider-Man movie without another MCU character stealing the spotlight? In October, it was reported that Doom will appear in Spider-Man 4, though the specifics of his role remain undisclosed. This means the supervillain's participation could range from appearing in a quick post-credits scene all the way to being a secondary character. That being said, it's also been rumored that Doom's relationship with the wall-crawler will be very important in the MCU (even more so than that of him with Reed Richards), so it wouldn't be shocking to learn he has a big role to play.

I truly don't think we need the intervention of another character played by Robert Downey Jr. in a Spider-Man project. Now that we're four movies into Tom Holland's saga, Marvel should really let go of that trope. Besides, before Spider-Man 4 is released, audiences will get to watch Avengers: Doomsday. So if there's any place for the wall-crawler and the ruler of Latveria to cross paths, it should be in the crossover project and not in the stand-alone chapter that follows.

At this point, it's all but confirmed that Spider-Man 4 will be a multiversal adventure, so the appearance of other Marvel characters is to be expected. Nonetheless, they should get to be Spider-Man characters (such as Tom Hardy's Venom) that otherwise wouldn't get to share the screen with Tom Holland's Peter Parker. It shouldn't be yet another way for Spidey to relive his Tony Stark trauma because, at this point, audiences are way past that.

1. There shouldn't be multiple villains (again)

If it isn't the million-dollar question: Who will be the main antagonist in Spider-Man 4? Well, Sony Japan teased Venom will be involved in the movie, but chances are he won't be a bad guy all the way through. So if we look at what insiders have to say, then it appears like everyone will be out to hunt the spider. Kingin, Scorpion, Knull, Black Cat, Doctor Doom, The Green Goblin, and Vulture have all been rumored to appear at some point or another. Granted, it's highly unlikely for all of these characters to have a role, but the one thing that all sources seem to agree on is that many villains will show up in Spider-Man 4.

Many superhero movies have tried to cram in multiple antagonists and most of them have failed. Sure, Spider-Man: No Way Home is an exception to that rule, but we also need to remember that The Amazing Spider-Man 2 and Spider-Man 3 were critical letdowns for that same reason. Audiences were so disappointed with those films, that Sony even decided to end Andrew Garfield and Tobey Maguire's franchises only to reboot the saga all over again. It may not appear so, but we're entering pretty dangerous territory here.

I personally feel the ideal scenario would be a proper Spider-Man vs Venom movie with no other antagonists involved. Of course, Tom Hardy's Eddie Brock isn't so much a villain but an anti-hero. So if Knull were to show up too, it wouldn't be too much of a problem — especially because it follows the same symbiotic storyline. But everyone else would just be too disconnected from the main narrative, and that could lead to disastrous results.