It sounds like we might be seeing a lot of Spider-Man next year. Depending on how the Marvel Cinematic Universe's releases play out in 2026, that could be true in more ways than one. Either way, Spidey will be back on the silver screen, and that is somehow still the second-biggest story for the MCU's next chapter, as Avengers: Doomsday is the one getting the majority of the attention right now.
We know that Tom Holland will return as the webslinger in Spider-Man: Brand New Day but his Avengers: Doomsday involvement is unclear. The wall-crawler is rumored to feature in some capacity but reports claim that Holland's filming schedule might prevent him from filming any scenes directly. But the character might also be absent from the film as Spider-Man 4 will reportedly take place alongside the events of Doomsday.
The good news is that Brand New Day promises to be a major event in and of itself, potentially involving some more multiversal madness. And now it seems that a long-standing rumor may have just been confirmed.
JK Simmons reportedly returning as J. Jonah Jameson in Spider-Man: Brand New Day
JK Simmons is now expected to return as J. Jonah Jameson in Spider-Man: Brand New Day. According to reliable industry insider Daniel Richtman, the acting legend has been "confirmed for Spider-Man 4 according to a recent casting grid". If this turns out to be accurate, it would suggest that it came from either Marvel Studios or Sony, suggesting that the actor will indeed appear in the film.
Simmons is a Hollywood veteran but his role as Jameson is one of his most recognizable. He first portrayed the direct, in-your-face editor of the Daily Bugle in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man in 2002, reprising the role in 2004's Spider-Man 2 and 2007's Spider-Man 3. Although the end of the Raimi movies suggested the end of his time as the character, he would make history when he returned as an alternate version of the character for a cameo appearance in 2019's Spider-Man: Far From Home and then played a more significant role in 2021's Spider-Man: No Way Home.
Both of those latter appearances were particularly major as they made him canon to the MCU. While subsequent MCU movies have reintroduced classic Marvel actors in the same role they once played (Patrick Stewart's Professor X, Hugh Jackman's Wolverine, and Wesley Snipes' Blade), they have all been multiversal crossovers or cameos - meaning that they didn't exist in the MCU's primary continuity on Earth-616. Simmons' return as JK Simmons wasn't down to any multiversal explanation; he was simply the MCU's version of J. Jonah Jameson who just happened to be a variant of the previous version Simmons played.
Speaking of the multiverse, it's currently unclear if Brand New Day will be a multiversal movie or a more grounded one. Previous reports suggested that Marvel was hoping to keep it more streetwise to give audiences the MCU Spider-Man movie they have been craving (and potentially give them a breather from the multiversal madness taking place in Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars) but that Sony was keen to recreate the success of Spider-Man: No Way Home (which made almost $2 billion at the box office). If the latter comes to fruition, there is a good chance that we could see Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield return as their respective versions of Spider-Man too.
Both stars played a major role in 2021's No Way Home, and with the Multiverse Saga set to conclude with both the upcoming Avengers movies, there are reports that one - or both - of them could return for the grand finale. With Spider-Man 4 being nestled between those films, that could make it the perfect place for their return too.
If it does happen, we need a scene between Maguire's Spider-Man and Simmons JK Simmons just for old times. That is, after all, what the Multiverse Saga has been all about.