It's been more than three years since we last saw Spider-Man swing across buildings and fight iconic villains in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Granted, new Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man episodes are being released on Disney Plus, but that story takes place in an alternate reality where the wall-crawler never went to Midtown High or got to meet MJ. On the other hand, audiences have yet to learn the fate of Tom Holland's Peter Parker after the whole world forgot he ever existed.
Anticipation is at an all-time high for Spider-Man 4 to break the character's long hiatus on the big screen and deliver a memorable adventure able to surpass its predecessor in every way. With all eyes set on the movie, rumors have been starting to fly left and right trying to paint a clearer picture of what awaits in store. Shockingly enough, it seems a big death might take place, and it's one sure to take by surprise every fan of the wall-crawler across the world.
Peter Parker will reportedly bite the dust in Spider-Man 4
According to scooper Marvel Update, the friendly neighborhood hero will reportedly "meet his end" during the events of Spider-Man 4 courtesy of Doctor Doom — a villain who'll share the same face as his former mentor: Tony Stark. Fortunately, tragedy won't last long as the Venom symbiote will bond with Peter and bring him back to life in the process.
If any of this sounds familiar, it's because players saw a similar event unfold during the events of Marvel's Spider-Man 2, except it was Kraven the one to put a (momentarily) end to the wall-crawler. That being said, we need to ask ourselves: Why take Spidey out of the picture only to immediately bring him back to life? Well, because God is (reportedly) coming.
For quite some time now, we've heard that Knull will be the main antagonist of Spider-Man 4. These reports gained even more credibility when Sony Japan itself accidentally teased Tom Hardy will be back as Venom in the movie as well. After all, the last time we saw the Lethal Protector, he was being chased by the King in Black's armies who were trying to get ahold of Codex to free their master from imprisonment. And with Knull's story far from being over, it wouldn't come as a shock if he were to return and finish what he started.
A Codex is a key created when a symbiote brings back a host to life — creating a stronger bond between the two in the process. Knull tried but failed to get Venom's codex, and now he'll likely look to rob Spider-Man after he bonds with the symbiote. The only question remaining is: How would the supervillain reach Tom Holland's Peter Parker if the two currently live in completely different universes? Well, it's been reported that — once credits roll on Avengers: Doomsday — Battleworld will be formed; a single place where all branching realities come together and every variant of every character lives. If that's the case, there wouldn't be a multiversal barrier separating Sony and Disney's Spider-Man characters.
It's worth highlighting that Marvel planted the seeds for a symbiotic storyline during the post-credits scene of Spider-Man: No Way Home. In it, audiences witnessed how Eddie Brock returned to his universe after being mistakenly pulled into the MCU, but not before leaving a piece of the Venom symbiote behind. To this date, we have yet to see a payoff to that scene, and chances are it will finally come during the events of Spider-Man 4.
In comic book pages, Peter first discovered the symbiote during the events of the original Secret Wars arc. So if there was ever perfect a place for Tom Holland to do the same on the big screen, it would be during a movie set to take place in Battleworld and preceding the release of Avengers: Secret Wars. After all, Peter could still keep the suit in Earth's Mightiest Hero's upcoming adventure. And if Tobey Maguire does make a surprise return as the wall-crawler, it will be interesting to see how he reacts to discovering that the MCU's Peter is attached to a parasitic alien similar to the one that corrupted him in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man 3.
Ever since the first Venom movie was released, audiences have been eager to see Tom Holland and Tom Hardy cross paths on the big screen. Fortunately, it seems that day is close, even if it will come at the cost of the wall-crawler momentarily dying. But hey, we'll take it! Even more so if we eventually get to see Venom finally sport that white spider logo on his chest.
Spider-Man 4 will be released on Jul. 24, 2026.