Dead Marvel favorite will reportedly return in Spider-Man 4

Even though we have all known that Spider-Man 4 has been happening for years now, its existence was finally confirmed recently when it was announced that Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings director Destin Daniel Cretton would direct the film. He takes over the reins from Jon Watts, who brought the first three Spider-Man movies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe to life, as Marvel Studios and Sony Pictures are reportedly eager to launch a new trilogy.

There has been a lot of talk about the film, which will feature the returns of Tom Holland and Zendaya as Peter Parker and MJ Watson, as reports have claimed that it will be another multiversal movie. If that's the case, it would be taking its cues from predecessor Spider-Man: No Way Home, which played an important role in the MCU's Multiverse Saga (and brought back Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield's Spider-Men). And with the multiverse comes cameos, returns, and even resurrections (of sorts).

That's what this newest rumor suggests might happen in the upcoming film.

Emma Stone rumored to make MCU debut as Spider-Gwen

According to a new report from Marvel scooper account Marvel News (formerly Film News), Emma Stone has been "in talks" with Marvel Studios to appear in both Spider-Man 4 and Avengers: Secret Wars. As for who she would be playing, the report claims Spider-Gwen, a variant of Gwen Stacy - the character that Stone previously portrayed in Marc Webb's Amazing Spider-Man movies.

If the movie does take place during the Multiverse Saga, this would make sense for multiple reasons. For starters, 2021's Spider-Man: No Way Home was perhaps the most pivotal movie in the MCU's ongoing saga, reintroducing us to two of the most beloved variants of Spider-Man the world has ever known. Furthermore, Spidey is commonly associated with the multiversal concept due to his close connection to the Spider-Verse, and given how the previous movie introduced plenty of iconic Spider-Man movie characters, it would be understandable if it's sequel did the same with some more.

Stone portrayed Gwen Stacy in 2012's The Amazing Spider-Man opposite Andrew Garfield's Peter Parker, before reprising the role in 2014's The Amazing Spider-Man 2. The second film wasn't as well received as the first, but it is pretty infamous for the death of Gwen Stacy which, although adapted from the comics, wasn't too well-received considering how popular the pairing of Stone and Garfield were together.

Fans always wondered if the character could end up returning as Spider-Gwen in a future installment, but the third movie never happened as Sony made a deal with Marvel Studios to allow Spider-Man to join the MCU, at which point Tom Holland was cast as the new Spidey. Though Garfield did return as his variation of the character in No Way Home, it very much implied that the character of Gwen Stacy was still dead.

Spider-Gwen is an alternate version of the character in the comics, who made her debut in 2014. Originating from the Spider-Verse storylines, she achieved widespread recognition through her role in the 2018 Academy Award-winning animated movie Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse and its 2023 sequel Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse.

Needless to say that if the character does make an appearance in the MCU, it would be awesome to see Stone in the role. Not only was she an incredible Gwen Stacy, this would give her a chance to show us a different type of Gwen, while also maintaining that charm that made her so popular with the audiences in the first place. And it would give her a much better send-off than the one her character got in The Amazing Spider-Man 2.