‘We’ll probably be looking for somebody else’: Marvel’s ‘Spider-Man 4’ update may set off alarm bells for fans of Tom Holland’s MCU trilogy

Spider-Man fans are in for a wild ride in the next few years as Kevin Feige promises big changes ahead for Tom Holland’s fourth solo outing as the web-slinger.

Jon Watts has been Feige’s go-to filmmaker for the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s iteration of the beloved comic-book superhero, but the Marvel president has basically confirmed that the 43-year-old is not coming along for the ride this time around.

In an interview with CinemaBlend, Feige revealed Watts is too busy to fit in the fourth MCU Spider-Man movie in his plans. “He’s got lots of things going on now. So we’ll probably be looking for somebody else,” he said, twice reiterating his love and gratitude for what the director has brought to the franchise.

We love Jon. Jon did three of the best Spider-Man films ever for us.”

Working on films the size of Marvel’s blockbusters can be challenging for directors who must dedicate nearly all their time to the project. Watts barely did anything else between the moment he entered Spider-Man: Homecoming in 2015 and the moment he finished Spider-Man: No Way Home in 2021. Since then he’s directed an action movie with George Clooney and Brad Pitt, produced and directed episodes from the FX series The Old Man, and most excitingly, hopped on over to a different major Disney IP as the creator and showrunner of Star Wars: Skeleton Crew. Watts was tied to Fantastic Four for a beat in 2022, too, but exited the film in search of a break from the superhero world.

All of this is to say that you need to have a pretty clear schedule to fit in a Marvel movie, especially one as hotly anticipated as Tom Holland’s return to the red and blue suit. Spider-Man 4 is well into the development stage now, with Feige telling io9 that a first draft will be ready “relatively soon.” Rumors have pointed toward some friction between the Marvel and Sony camps regarding creative direction and a release window for the film.

Any day now, Feige and Marvel could be revealing who will succeed Watts at the helm of the MCU’s Spider-Man series. Fans are hoping the news will come as soon as this Saturday, July 27 when the studio takes the stage at San Diego Comic-Con’s Hall H panel.