Rumor Report: Will Spider-Man 3 Feature Another Major Avenger?
When Spidey swings into his next silver-screen adventure, will a familiar face be joining him?
Now that we know Spider-Man is sticking around in the Marvel Cinematic Universe for at least one more film thanks to the new deal Sony, Disney, and Marvel reached in September 2019, it's not totally unreasonable to think that Spider-Man 3 may feature another major Avenger. After all, Iron Man had a huge role in Spider-Man: Homecoming, and Tony Stark's death loomed large in Spider-Man: Far From Home, which also featured Avengers Initiative mastermind Nick Fury. And according to an entirely unconfirmed rumor published by We Got This Covered, that idea might become reality.
The outlet sites unnamed sources claiming that the upcoming (and currently untitled) Spider-Man 3 will co-star another prominent Avenger. These mysterious sources also allege that said hero will either be Captain Marvel, Doctor Strange, or Ms. Marvel, whom we've yet to meet on screen.
Will Spider-Man 3 really include another of Earth's Mightiest Heroes? How likely is it that any of the three Marvel heroes We Got This Covered mentioned will actually appear in the upcoming Spider-Man movie? Is this rumor anything more than a bunch of unfounded chatter?
The case for Captain Marvel
Let's break this rumor down by starting with Captain Marvel.
Brie Larson's Carol Danvers and Tom Holland's Peter Parker have already met in the MCU and showed some great chemistry with their adorable scene together in Avengers: Endgame, when Spidey handed over the Iron Infinity Gauntlet to the Kree-powered Captain. That considered, reuniting the pair in Spider-Man 3 would likely be a hit with fans.
Additionally, there's that end-credits scene from Spider-Man: Far From Home that featured Talos and other Skrulls, characters who first appeared in Captain Marvel. If that mysterious scene was setting up some sort of Skrull storyline for Spider-Man 3, Captain Marvel will probably want to be involved in one way or another.
Captain Marvel and Spider-Man are also the strongest contenders to be the face of the MCU now that Iron Man and Captain America are out of the picture, so having them share the screen in Spider-Man 3 could be Disney's way of ushering in the new era of Marvel at the movies.
However, there's been no official word on whether or not Captain Marvel and Spider-Man will cross paths again — in Spider-Man 3 or any other Marvel movie – so any evidence that seems like it can back the rumor up needs to be taken with plenty of skepticism. Since both Holland and Larson are A-list actors with their own superhero franchises to focus on (the first Captain Marvel movie only premiered this year, so there's tons of ground to cover with the hero), there's an enormously high chance that they'll stick to their own corners of the MCU and never meet up on screen again.
Should we discount Doctor Strange?
At first glance, Doctor Strange may seem like an odd choice to appear in a Spider-Man movie. Look at it this way: Strange is a Master of the Mystic Arts who deals with metaphysical threats to our reality, and Spider-Man is a friendly neighborhood hero whose battles are very grounded. They're not exactly a perfect superhero match. But Spidey is more worldly than he appears, as Nick Fury so eloquently pointed out in Far From Home when he told Peter, "B****, you've been to space!"
Spidey and Strange also have a history. They spent some time together during Avengers: Infinity War, which saw Peter's idea saving the Sorcerer Supreme from Ebony Maw and the duo engaging in a bit of banter — though we can't say that Strange was overly friendly toward Spidey. Strange is also based in New York, like Spidey, so the odds of the two of them bumping into one another seems fairly high.
It may also be worth noting that Doctor Strange deals with multiple realities, and his upcoming film Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness will likely introduce to the MCU the Marvel Comics concept of the multiverse. If that happens, it could have big implications for Spider-Man moving forward — potentially even offering Sony a logical way to get that Spider-Man/Venom crossover it so desperately wants.
On the flip side, though, that same film could be what keeps Doctor Strange away from Spider-Man 3. Directed by returning filmmaker Scott Derrickson, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is bringing another Avenger into the Sorcerer Supreme's world for a little crossover action: Elizabeth Olsen's Scarlet Witch. The flick is set to launch in theaters on May 7, 2021 — just a few months before Spider-Man 3 opens on July 16, 2021. Having two MCU films featuring hero crossovers and including two of the same Avengers, Doctor Strange and Spider-Man, sounds like a recipe for superhero fatigue. After watching Strange and Scarlet team up in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, audiences may have a "been there, done that" attitude to Spider-Man 3 if it truly does feature Doctor Strange.
Wait... who's Ms. Marvel?
If the name "Ms. Marvel" isn't ringing any bells for you, that's because the character hasn't yet appeared on screen — but she will. Kamala Khan, the Pakistani American teenager who can stretch and bend her body into all sorts of shapes, is confirmed to star on her own upcoming series on the new streaming service Disney+. When exactly that series will premiere remains a mystery. The other live-action Marvel series on the service — Hawkeye, WandaVision, Loki, and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier — are all slated for debuts in 2020 and 2021, leaving little room for Ms. Marvel to launch during that time. If Ms. Marvel doesn't premiere until 2022, the character could first appear in Spider-Man 3.
On one hand, Ms. Marvel debuting in Spider-Man 3 might make sense. Kamala is around the same age as Peter, and since the MCU has no other teen heroes, it would be great to see the two share the screen together. It also has the potential to be a boon to the Ms. Marvel series, as introducing the character in what will likely be a billion-dollar movie ahead of her own TV series could make for a high-profile introduction.
On the other hand, it might be a horrible decision. Ms. Marvel is an important and beloved character, and her landing a solo show on Disney+ is huge not just for the hero herself but also for comic book fans who see themselves in her. The House of Heroes rarely makes mistakes when it comes to introducing characters into its mammoth franchise that spans film and now television, and having Kamala Khan take her first turn on the screen in someone else's movie could be a massive misstep. It's easy to see how many might argue that introducing Ms. Marvel in Spider-Man 3 would take away from her importance, or rob her of an introduction that's all about her and who she is as a hero.
In the same vein, while Marvel brought Tom Holland's Spider-Man into the MCU ahead of his first solo film, far more people are familiar with Spidey than they are with Ms. Marvel. Having her first appear in Spider-Man 3 could confuse people and may result in the unfortunate consequence of turning people away from the Ms. Marvel Disney+ series instead of drawing them in.
Regardless of whether any of these Avengers (or any Avengers at all) will join Peter Parker in Spider-Man 3, Disney and Marvel clearly don't plan on losing Spider-Man anytime soon. Spider-Man 3 could be one big Avengers reunion, or it could be strictly centered around Spidey himself. Either way, the film is sure to be a smash when it swings into theaters on July 16, 2021.