Spider-Man 4 Theory Explains How The MCU Movie Could Be Street-Level & Include The Multiverse Simultaneously

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Tom Holland's Spider-Man 4 has a perfect way of balancing a street-level story with multiverse elements at the same time, according to a new Marvel Cinematic Universe theory. After the enormous success of Spider-Man: No Way Home, it was easy to know that Tom Holland would be brought back for more as Peter Parker. The MCU's next Spider-Man movie is now well underway, with Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings' Destin Daniel Cretton reportedly set to direct Spider-Man 4. One of Holland's Spider-Man movies will not be directed by Jon Watts for the first time.

Related Spider-Man 4's MCU Crossover Character Just Got Two Likely Candidates After Latest Major Update Tom Holland"s Spider-Man 4 has received its biggest update in years, and the movie now has two likely MCU candidates to play key roles in the story.
The MCU's Spider-Man 4 is aiming to start filming in early 2025. To make that date, casting news should come from now until the end of the year. This could include teases that Spider-Man 4's story will skew towards the multiverse or a grounded tale. The different paths have been rumored to be either Sony's or Marvel's preference, respectively. However, there is an interesting way for the next Spider-Man movie to include both, making the most of Spider-Man: No Way Home's setup and the MCU's Multiverse Saga.
MCU Theory Makes Spider-Man 4 The Perfect Street-Level & Multiverse Film A Street-Level Story With Plenty Of Multiverse Elements Close On Reddit, Marvel fan reddituser6213 shared an intriguing theory that explains how Holland's Spider-Man 4 could be street-level and use the multiverse at the same time. The MCU theory takes into account the franchise's slate of releases, with Spider-Man 4's likely slot after Avengers: Doomsday allowing that film to impact it. Robert Downey Jr.'s Doctor Doom would create Battleworld at the end of Avengers: Doomsday, which would put several Marvel live-action properties and characters in one world. After that event, Spider-Man 4 would take place in a New York setting inside Battleworld, with Peter Parker not remembering what Doom did.
In the 2015 Marvel Comics Secret Wars event, Doctor Doom created Battleworld and wiped out the memories of most characters to make them believe that Battleworld was all that ever existed, forgetting their universes. The same could happen in Spider-Man 4, with the movie focusing on a street-level story with the wall-crawler that spins out of Spider-Man: No Way Home's ending; only the New York it is set in exists as part of Battleworld. That would allow the film to also feature multiverse characters for cameos, such as the other Spider-Men, who could also be living in this NYC.
Spider-Man 4 Is Likely To Release After Avengers: Doomsday The MCU Movie Has Just Received Major Updates Close One of the main reasons this story would work is due to the MCU's slate of movies. After a tame 2024, which only saw the release of Deadpool & Wolverine, Marvel Studios has four movies scheduled for 2025. Since Holland's Spider-Man 4 will begin filming early next year, the most likely scenario for the film is to be ready for theaters at some point in 2026. That year currently has Avengers: Doomsday scheduled for a May release, with dates for unnamed MCU movies in February and November. Spider-Man 4 will not be released in either.
Tom Holland's first two Spider-Man movies were released in July, and Spider-Man 4 could follow that trend.
The reason for that is that Sony is the studio that schedules Spider-Man movies' release dates, not Marvel. As such, the February slot before May 2026's Avengers: Doomsday will not be Spider-Man 4's, and releasing the film between those two MCU movies would make the start of the year way too stacked. However, Marvel dropped a July 24, 2026, release date, which could very well be scooped up by Sony for Spider-Man 4, securing its release a couple of months after Avengers: Doomsday. Tom Holland's first two Spider-Man movies were released in July, and Spider-Man 4 could follow that trend.
Why Spider-Man 4’s Best Story Would Be Both Street-Level & Multiversal Spider-Man: No Way Home's Success Should Impact The Movie Close Spider-Man: No Way Home ended in a perfect way to make Holland's Peter Parker closer to the character's classic comic book adventures. Spider-Man has little tech at hand, making his new suit from scratch. Peter is also living alone in a small apartment, with the character's life turned completely upside down after Doctor Strange's spell makes everyone forget who he is. That tease of a grounded Spider-Man story has to be followed up, with there being plenty of darker and more personal tales the movie could adapt. Characters like Kingpin, Daredevil, Black Cat, Hammerhead, and more could fit that tone.
Director Destin Daniel Cretton's connection to Shang-Chi could lead to Simu Liu's MCU hero making an appearance in Spider-Man 4.
That said, the MCU's Multiverse Saga will come to an end in 2027 with Avengers: Secret Wars, so the time is now for Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield's versions of Spider-Man to make more appearances. After Spider-Man: No Way Home made nearly $2 billion worldwide due to the past Spider-Man actors being included, their returns in Spider-Man 4 are very much possible. As such, balancing a street-level story with multiversal elements like the MCU theory suggests seems like the best bet to make Spider-Man 4 a huge hit that follows Spider-Man: No Way Home nicely.

Spider-Man 4 Spider-Man 4 is the first sequel to the MCU"s Spider-Man trilogy starring Tom Holland as the titular wall-crawler. After wiping his identity for the public"s memory in Spider-Man: No Way Home, Peter Parker continues his crime-fighting adventures without the aid of Iron Man technology or the support of his former allies.
Franchise(s) Marvel Cinematic Universe , Spider-Man All Announced Upcoming MCU Movies