Sony Wants Two Huge Marvel Actors In Spider-Man 4 - But Kevin Feige Doesn't (Report)
"Spider-Man: No Way Home" brought three versions of Spider-Man together in an epic multiversal team-up, and a new report suggests Sony wants to make it happen again in "Spider-Man 4." However, the rumor also says Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige isn't on the same page and wants to take the character back to his roots.
On scooper Daniel Richtman's Patreon page (via ComicBookMovie.com), Richtman dropped the news that Sony reportedly wants Andrew Garfield and Tobey Maguire to appear in the fourth installment of the Tom Holland-starring "Spider-Man" films. After the acclaim for and audience reactions to "Spider-Man: No Way Home," which plucked Maguire from the original "Spider-Man" trilogy and Garfield from the "Amazing Spider-Man" films, Sony seems eager to double down on its success.
Fiege has different ideas, according to Richtman's reporting. While Sony is said to want to make "Spider-Man 4" massive in scale, Fiege is said to want to keep things "more grounded" — which tracks with the end of the most recent film, which saw the hero get reset to basics after Doctor Strange erased the universe's memory of Peter Parker. It's easy to see why Fiege wants to scale back. After Spider-Man being the mentee of Tony Stark, fighting cosmic battles against Thanos, and breaking the Multiverse, giving viewers a more authentic Spider-Man who is more "friendly neighborhood Spider-Man" than Iron Man Jr., more of a street-level hero, could breathe new yet familiar life into the franchise.
Tom Holland is protective of the Spider-Man brand
Tom Holland, who currently portrays the web-slinger on the big screen, confirmed he's continued to have discussions about what "Spider-Man 4," may look like: "All I can say is that we have been actively engaging in conversations about what it could potentially look like for a fourth rendition of my character," Holland said at a press conference at the Critics Choice Association (via Collider). "Whether or not we can find a way to do justice to the character is another thing. I feel very protective over Spider-Man. I feel very, very lucky that we were able to work on a franchise that got better with each movie, that got more successful with each movie, which I think is really rare, and I want to protect his legacy."
Understandably, Holland wants to ensure "Spider-Man 4" is a worthy continuation of the story he's helped build in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. With each of the three "Spider-Man" films well-received by audiences and critics, and changes to the franchise coming in a potential fourth installment — both in Peter's status quo and potentially with director Jon Watts not officially attached — it seems Holland doesn't want to rush into something that isn't right for the character. MCU and Spider-Man fans might be sad about potentially waiting longer for a new film, but it sounds like significant thought and care are being put into the project to see it done correctly. Currently, "Spider-Man 4" doesn't have a release date.