by Pierre Lorenz on November 30, 2022

The "Spider-Man" trilogy is an unparalleled success in director Jon Watts' filmography. The 41-year-old was significantly responsible for the realization of the film series with Tom Holland and, if Sony officials have their way, will also direct the upcoming movies. In his podcast a few days ago, industry insider Tom Smith spoke about this very topic, because apparently, the planned commitment of Watts is not going as well as expected. At Sony, the fourth "Spider-Man" installment with Tom Holland is in the works under top priority, and so the pressure to finally start concrete preparations for filming is growing. The screenplay is also said to be currently receiving special attention, but unlike the contract with Tom Holland, the one with Jon Watts has not been signed yet. Previously, the director announced his intention to devote more time to directing series and thus not to focus on "Spider-Man 4" for the time being. So instead, Watts is currently busy creating the new "Star Wars" series "Skeleton Crew", which has not been completed yet and requires his full attention. Thus, Sony is in a quandary, because if they can't close the Watts deal soon, a delay in production could be the immediate result. On the other hand, it would also be a high risk to rely on another director who didn't direct the three previous films and thus has less familiarity with the franchise.

Also not yet officially confirmed is Zendaya as MJ, although her commitment is surely just a formality. After all, as Peter Parker's girlfriend, she is integral to the rest of the story. Nevertheless, it will need some clarifying as to how she and Peter will reunite after her memory loss in the previous part. The sequel to "No Way Home" will be exciting anyways, since after its ending, in which the multiverse chaos was as good as resolved, the franchise finds itself at a kind of new start. According to rumors, a crossover with "Daredevil" could be in planning for the next film, or the one after that, but there are no official statements on the matter yet. Based on the current schedule, "Spider-Man 4" is set to hit theaters in the summer of 2024, but the actual date cannot be estimated until the commitment of the director.

There is further news about a "Spider-Man" film that will probably not ever be released. We are talking about the fourth "Spider-Man" film which was in planning with director Sam Raimi and leading actor Tobey Maguire. In this film, the award-winning Hollywood veteran John Malkovich would have taken on the role of Vulture. The latter is a supervillain from the "Spider-Man" universe and even had a suitable costume for the film already. The proposed outfit is said to have been intended for Malkovich and was made for Sony by the friends of a Twitter user who uploaded a corresponding picture. On it, you can see an elaborate outfit custom-made for the planned Vulture actor, which left many fans impressed for its look. The production's progress is made particularly clear by the image and sparked feelings of nostalgia among many.