Spider-Man 4’s success might depend on Sony understanding one simple message

I’m not the biggest fan of Spider-Man, no matter which actor played the hero since Sony started making these movies. My favorite Spidey actually comes from the animated universe. The Spider-Verse is easily the most entertaining Spider-Man series.

I say that as an MCU fan who understands how important Tom Holland’s Peter Parker is for this universe of movies. More importantly, I say that as someone finally excited about a Spider-Man movie. That’s the upcoming Spider-Man 4, whose release date is yet to be announced.

The most recent rumors say Spider-Man 4 will premiere between Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars. The film could have multiverse elements like No Way Home. I often explained why attempting to match the success of No Way Home is the wrong approach, and I will do it again.

This time, I’ll use Jon Watts’ explanation for why he’s not directing the fourth Spider-Man flick in the MCU. Some spoilers might follow below.

Why Spider-Man 4 is exciting

I’m tired of seeing the same Peter Parker story over and over. Sony and Marvel largely avoided that with Tom Holland’s trilogy, but the vibe was similar. We still have teenage Peter Parker who is discovering his powers and his great responsibility. The MCU needed that moment.

But come Spider-Man 4, we’re entering new territory. Gone are the high school years. Peter is going to college in a universe that saw tremendous drama unfold. We’re still in the years after the blip, when half the world, Spidey included, vanished from existence.

He’s not just getting to terms with that, but he lost everything he had while simultaneously discovering the multiverse is real. As a reminder, No Way Home gave us a Peter Parker, who lost his aunt just months after Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) died.

He then gave up all other meaningful connections in his life by having the world forget about him. MJ (Zendaya) and Ned (Jacob Batalon) have also forgotten him.

Finally, he can no longer access the Stark Spider-Man suit tech that turned Spidey into an overpowered superhero. Spider-Man has to protect his friendly neighborhood on his own.

All of this makes Spider-Man 4 incredibly exciting. It’s the start of a new Spidey trilogy under the MCU umbrella, telling a story Sony’s other Spider-Man versions didn’t quite get to.

What’s the Watts warning?

Spider-Man 4 doesn’t have a director yet, and Jon Watts doesn’t look to be it. Fans of the MCU trilogy might have hoped the director responsible for Homecoming, Far From Home, and No Way Home would return, but that’s not happening.

While promoting his new movie Wolfs, Jon Watts explained to The Hollywood Reporter what made him realize he had to move away from the MCU. The director watched No Way Home in a theater in December 2021, taking in the audience’s reaction to the movie.

As THR puts it, “the audience was standing, screaming, crying and generally carrying on in a way that, even for the first showing of a fan-favorite superhero movie, was a spectacle all to itself.”

“That was such a specific moment in time, and the reaction to that movie was just so unbelievable,” Watts said about the experience. That’s when he realized that “it’s never going to be like this, ever again.”

I think he’s simultaneously right and wrong about that. Sony and Marvel should consider this as they make Spider-Man 4.

Attempting to recreate the magic of No Way Home in Spider-Man 4 is futile. Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield swung into action, reprising their Spider-Man characters in No Way Home. You can’t pull off the same surprise and expect the same results so soon. No Way Home was a hit with audiences for this reason, making almost $2 billion at the box office. It’s too soon to attempt a repeat.

Rumors in the past few months said that Sony wanted Spider-Man 4 to be as big as No Way Home. The sequel should also be a multiverse movie, with Maguire and Garfield returning in some capacity. I hope that won’t be the case, however. It’s time for a soft reboot, and the multiverse aspect should be minimal here. However, I do see why multiverse hooks to Doomsday and Secret Wars might be needed.

Watts is also wrong. Whether he or someone else directs a future movie involving Spider-Man, I’m sure Marvel will be able to replicate the public’s reactions. The financial success will match those reactions. The recently released Deadpool & Wolverine is proof that the MCU can still amaze audiences.

It might not be Spider-Man 4, where multiple Spider-Man variants fight side by side. It might not even be a Sony movie. But I’m sure we’ll see the Holland-Maguire-Garfield trio appear in Secret Wars alongside other beloved Marvel characters who will make the crowds go wild again. Sony and Marvel have to wait to get things right.