New Spider-Man 4 bombshell has broken the internet; fans divided

There have been three separate Spider-Man film series. All are different in their own way, but they all have one thing in common: None have produced a fourth movie. That's all about to change with the upcoming fourth installment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe Spidey series starring Tom Holland.

Holland had portrayed the character in the three films in the Spider-Man: Homecoming trilogy (alongside Avengers and Captain America movies) and now his character will return for a new trilogy, with Sony and Marvel Studios once again collaborating on it. And after the success of the third installment in the previous trilogy, Spider-Man: No Way Home, anticipation is at an all-time high.

However, a new update has suggested that the events of that game-changing movie might not be such a one-and-done thing, and it's left fans feeling all kinds of ways about it.

Spider-Man 4 will reportedly be a multiversal movie

According to prolific Marvel insider Daniel Richtman, Spider-Man 4 will likely be a multiversal movie. On paper, that might sound pretty normal considering there is a strong likelihood that it will take place during the MCU's ongoing Multiverse Saga, but it's also quite eyebrow-raising, particularly to those fans who were expecting something a little bit different after the previous installment in the franchise.

Spider-Man: No Way Home brought back Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield as their respective versions of Spidey, uniting the three Peter Parkers from the three separate Spider-Man movie series. It was an epic moment that paid tribute to the concept of the Spider-Verse, while also playing an important part in the Multiverse Saga, showcasing the limitless possibilities when the multiverse is involved.

The fact that it managed to bring together the three Spider-Man actors made the film revolutionary, but it also served as a fulfilling conclusion to the Homecoming trilogy, setting the stage for a new one in the process. That trilogy was heavily connected to the MCU, with each of its installments relying on a prominent character to serve as Peter Parker's mentor (Tony Stark in Homecoming, "Nick Fury", Mysterio and Happy Hogan in Far From Home, and Doctor Strange and the other two Spideys in No Way Home).

They weren't your typical Spider-Man movies and that was okay because of how important they were to the franchise. However, it truly seemed like No Way Home had set the stage for a more comic-accurate Spider-Man adventure, which would see Peter Parker be his own hero in the heart of New York City. And with that, it was believed that a grounded, more standalone adventure would get the spotlight in Spider-Man 4.

With that in mind, fans are pretty divided about the idea of a multiversal Spider-Man 4. Not only would that rob audiences of the chance to see a pretty straight-forward, street-level, comic-accurate storyline with Tom Holland's webslinger at the heart of it, it would risk the character getting pulled back in to a larger-than-life, ambitious Spidey adventure for the third consecutive time.

Some fans accurately pointed out that the last time we had a relatively normal Spider-Man movie was 2017's Spider-Man: Homecoming and even then, that was heavily tied into the MCU story at the time. It's hard to overlook that point, because Peter Parker has really been thrown into the thick of the MCU story in a very short amount of time. That's definitely not a bad thing (this is Spider-Man we're talking about, after all), but with the ending of No Way Home essentially separating him from the core group of the franchise's characters for now, the opportunity for a more grounded Spider-Man adventure was there.

If Sony and Marvel proceed with another multiversal Spider-Man story, it just sounds like it could be an attempt to recreate the success of Spider-Man: No Way Home. While nobody would blame them for that, it also risks undercutting that very movie's poignant ending and throwing Peter back into the craziness of the Multiverse Saga far too soon.

As with all rumors, it's best to wait and see where this one goes, but it is understandable that fans are apprehensive about it.