These ‘Spider-Man 4’ rumors are making my Spider-senses tingle in the worst way possible

After the success of Spider-Man: No Way Home, it was inevitable that there’d be a fourth movie for Tom Holland’s Spider-Man. Unfortunately, there have been all sorts of indications that the filmmakers aren’t heading in the best direction.

Rumors have abounded for a while now about Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield reprising their roles as the variant Spider-Men, but the movie really doesn’t need them. In fact, I would be perfectly happy if they never return again. It’s not because I don’t like them, it’s because I do like them! I want their stories to over and done with so no-one gets the bright idea of killing them off.

But now another rumor is gaining traction: that Spider-Man 4 will borrow some elements from the upcoming final Venom movie. According to leaker Alex Perez, Holland’s Spider-Man will get the famous Venom symbiote black suit in Spider-Man 4 and “may keep it for the next couple of Spidey films.” The film will also allegedly feature the multiverse, like so many MCU films before it, and may get “cosmic.” (Think Thor or Guardians of the Galaxy.)

Perez says, “With each passing day, it becomes more and more multiversal than street-level. At this point, I dare say it’s leaning slightly cosmic than street.”

But fans aren’t happy with this news. They’ve simply had enough of the multiverse and of the stakes getting higher and higher. They want a more down-to-earth movie where Spider-Man is more relatable. And who can blame them? After all, he’s meant to be the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man.

People have been making fun of the idea on X (formerly known as Twitter.)

Perez has made some other claims too: there will be symbiote villains in the movie, but there will not however be an appearance from Black Cat, someone a lot of people hoped might finally get her due in the movies.

And, Perez also claimed that there is a “very strong possibility,” of Maguire and Garfield showing up, and that’s where I just rolled my eyes. The MCU really has a habit of taking a good thing and then constantly revisiting it until all the novelty’s worn off. (Yes, I’m one of the handful of people out there who couldn’t stand Deadpool and Wolverine, I’m so sorry.) If they brought those two back—and bear in mind that Andrew Garfield claims not to be returning to the MCU—it would really feel like a cynical cash-grab.

But there’s simply no way of knowing whether these rumors are true or not, because the movie is still shrouded in mystery. All we know is that Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers are writing the script and Destin Daniel Cretton is in talks to direct. Here’s to hoping everyone gets what they want … but I would really prefer a street-level, non-multiverse movie.