10 things Marvel needs to do to save the MCU

8. Make Spider-Man 4 a priority

Spider-Man looked like he was set to play a huge role in the immediate aftermath of the Infinity Saga. Spider-Man: Far From Home came directly after Avengers: Endgame while sequel No Way Home was one Phase Four's biggest titles. It seemed as if Peter Parker was set to become the MCU's next "Iron Man", its next leader, both from a storytelling perspective and a marketing standpoint.

It made sense, too. The MCU had lost some of its biggest heroes after Endgame, so who better to lead the franchise going forward than Marvel's biggest superhero ever. Peter had played a bit of an underdog role since his debut in 2016's Captain America: Civil War, so now was his time to take the spotlight.

No Way Home felt like the moment where they could really go full steam ahead with that, and in a way, they did. However, the uncertainty surrounding Spidey's future with MJ and Ned, the Avengers, and the MCU has left all of that up in the air. The good news is that the character will reportedly return for another trilogy of movies, and it appears that these could be more directly Spider-Man-focused (instead of MCU Spider-Man focused). This could attract wider audiences looking for more of a standalone tale.

Taking that into account (and the fact that the most recent Spider-Man movie is the only MCU outing to cross $1 billion since Phase Four began), it's imperative that Marvel Studios and Sony work together to bring Spider-Man 4 to movie theaters as soon as possible. We know it's likely to happen, but at a time when the MCU is struggling, a familiar face like Spider-Man could be exactly what it needs to steer it back on course.