Marvel "confirms" it's moving on from Spidey veteran for Spider-Man 4

The fourth Spider-Man movie might just be the most eagerly-anticipated movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe's long-line of upcoming projects. Yes, I'm aware I said that when we are in the midst of the Multiverse Saga and have two Avengers movies coming up, but after Spider-Man: No Way Home, Spidey fans are ready to see Tom Holland return as the MCU's webslinger for what will undoubtedly be a pivotal adventure.

Marvel Studios and Sony Pictures are currently planning Peter Parker's next adventure and it is expected to launch a new trilogy of movies for the character. However, there have been rumors that one of the people responsible for the Spider-Man: Homecoming trilogy won't be present for the next chapter in Spidey's story.

Kevin Feige says Spider-Man 4 will "probably" have a new director

Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige has suggested that they will be searching for a new director to bring Spider-Man 4 to life, essentially confirming the speculation that Jon Watts wouldn't be returning to the franchise. Speaking to CinemaBlend as part of the promo tour for Deadpool and Wolverine, he said:

"We love Jon. Jon did three of the best Spider-Man films ever for us. He's got lots of things going on now. So we'll probably be looking for somebody else, just because he's busy."

This comes after months of speculation that Watts wouldn't be returning for the next installment in the franchise, and it is understandable given that the director is set to direct episodes of Disney Plus Star Wars series Skeleton Crew as well as this year's Wolfs starring George Clooney and Brad Pitt.

His contributions to the MCU franchise are huge, as he directed 2017's Spider-Man: Homecoming, 2019's Spider-Man: Far From Home, and 2021's Spider-Man: No Way Home. All three of those movies proved to be among the franchise's most successful, with the third of them currently the seventh highest-grossing movie of all time. He was, at one point, also set to direct Fantastic Four before he stepped down to focus on different projects.

He was initially expected to return to the Spider-Man series before rumors of his possible departure started earlier this year. Watts himself then increased the speculation when he offered "the next Spider-Man director" some advice during an interview with Collider. And since then, there have been multiple rumors about new directors taking the helm of Peter Parker's story going forward.

The biggest name that has come up as a possible replacement for Watts, according to insiders, is Sam Raimi. The legendary director is no stranger to the character, having directed all three of the original Spider-Man movies that Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst led, and he recently worked with Marvel Studios on Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.

He's not the only familiar name that has a history with Spider-Man that has come up as a potential director, however, as Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley (who co-wrote the script for Spider-Man: Homecoming) were also reportedly in contention. Rumors also suggested that Justin Lin, James Wan, and Drew Goddard were brought up as potential choices, too.

While the rumors about Jon Watts' potential successor to the Spider-Man movie series continue to circulate, it does appear that Feige's comments confirm his departure from the franchise. If that is indeed the case, he certainly has a lot to be proud of as he played an important part in transforming Spider-Man into one of the MCU's most pivotal superheroes, while also closing out his trilogy with one of the biggest movies of all time (that brought to life the fans' hope of seeing three Spider-Men on-screen at the same time). That's one heck of a way to go out!