Spider-Man 4 Moving Forward With Shang-Chi Director

Spider-Man is swinging back into action for Sony and Marvel, with Tom Holland once again donning the mask as the friendly neighborhood hero. This time around, however, there will be a change in director behind the camera. Jon Watts has moved on after directing an entire Spider-Man trilogy with Holland in the lead, concluding his run with the 2021 mega-hit Spider-Man: No Way Home. Now, Destin Daniel Cretton will take over, as Marvel and Sony hope to move the next Spider-Man into production in the near future.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Cretton has been tapped by Marvel and Sony to direct Spider-Man 4, with Holland returning in the lead role. Production is reportedly set to begin early next year, which makes a 2026 release feel likely.

Cretton has become a mainstay for Marvel in recent years, having directed the popular and successful Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings back in 2021. He has since helmed the Disney+ series Wonder Man, which stars Yahya Abdul-Mateen II and is currently in post-production.

The filmmaker was also reportedly attached to one of Marvel’s biggest projects; Avengers: Kang Dynasty. That didn’t pan out, however, as Kang was essentially put on the shelf after Jonathan Majors’ sentencing and the Russo Brothers were brought in to direct the fifth and sixth Avengers installments. Cretton will instead turn his attention to the most iconic character in Marvel’s library.

Marvel’s Kevin Feige and Sony’s Amy Pascal are once again serving as the producers for the new Spider-Man, with writers Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers penning the script.

What Is Spider-Man 4 About?

There are no details available regarding the story of Spider-Man 4 just yet, but the ending of Spider-Man: No Way Home set the character up on an interesting path. In the film, the entire world forgets Peter is Spider-Man, including the people he loves most. This sends him on the more traditional Spider-Man story of struggling to get by in his normal life, similar to the arc of Tobey Maguire’s character in Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy.

Whether or not that simplified, around the neighborhood version of Spider-Man comes to light in this film remains to be seen. If this movie does indeed go into production in 2025, a 2026 release date seems likely, and that would mean its release would arrive in the middle of the upcoming Secret Wars saga. That’s the opposite of simple, but could open the door for all sorts of Spidey stories.