‘This is definitely the Spidey we know and love’: The MCU’s Spider-Man is confirmed to be swinging back to us way sooner than we thought

What a treat of a week for Spider-Man fans this is turning out to be! First, we learned that Spider-Man 4 is officially getting somewhere at long last, as it’s finally found a director. Then we discover Tom Holland is definitely returning as Peter Parker. Now it’s been announced that the MCU’s wallcrawler will be swinging back to us far sooner than his next solo film. In fact, he’ll be here before the year is over…even if he’ll be a little different from the Spidey we know.

At this point, chest-deep into the Multiverse Saga, everyone is well aware of the rules of multiversal variants and the like — Spidey fans, most of all, given the universe-hopping hijinks of No Way Home and Sony’s Spider-Verse films. So hopefully fans won’t have any trouble embracing the MCU’s second original incarnation of the webslinger, who we’ll first get to know this December!

Your first look at a brand-new MCU Spider-Man variant will be here before 2024 is out

Remember Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man? Originally titled Spider-Man: Freshman Year, this animated series was initially developed as a Homecoming prequel, explaining Peter’s origins, but along the way it received a rebranding and official confirmation that it takes place in its own timeline. To welcome us into this new world, Marvel is set to release a new tie-in comic book series beginning very soon.

As revealed by Marvel.com, Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man will be a five-issue limited series going on sale Dec. 11. Set prior to the events of the upcoming Disney Plus show, the synopsis promises that it will feature “a young Peter Parker, his supporting cast, and some of Spidey’s legendary villains. The comic series introduces some of the amazing adventures to come in this highly anticipated animated series that takes place during Peter’s earliest days as Spider-Man.”

Written by Christos Gage with art from Eric Gapstur, the two variant covers for the first issue (by artist Leonardo Romero) have been released — and they also double up as our first official look at the Friendly Neighborhood character design.

Again, this variant isn’t exactly the same as Holland’s — he’ll be voiced in the show by What If…? actor Hudson Thames (water a name that is!). And yet Gage promised to Marvel.com that this is definitely a familiar version of the character for anyone who loves the Homecoming trilogy and the MCU’s regular Peter Parker.

“I’ve had the privilege of writing a lot of Spider-Man’s adventures, both in comics and in the Insomniac video games, but one thing I’ve never gotten the chance to do is recount his earliest exploits,” Gage said. “And the exciting part about this book is it’s a brand new take on those formative times. While this is definitely Peter Parker, the Spidey we know and love, he’s got a new cast of supporting characters – including Nico Minoru, who you may know from Runaways – and some surprising twists!”

Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man‘s excellent voice cast also includes Hugh Dancy as Doctor Octopus, Colman Domingo as Norman Osborn, and a certain Charlie Cox as Daredevil. A release date has yet to be supplied, but it’s possible the show could premiere just in time for the comic’s arrival this December.