Once director Jon Watts wraps shooting on Spider-Man: No Way Home, for the first time since signing on to play the role, Tom Holland will no longer be contractually obligated to return as the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s web-slinging superhero. Obviously, though, he’s definitely going to be back, and even admitted that he’s happy to suit up for as long as the studio wants him to, even if Robert Downey Jr. certainly hopes that he’s not going to be 37 and still stuck as Peter Parker.
The MCU is only continuing to become more expansive thanks to the introduction of the Disney Plus exclusive shows, while the Sony Pictures Universe of Marvel Characters is still a thing, too, although that might not be the case by the time Holland officially puts pen to paper on his next contract.
In any case, after the third Spidey outing, Watts will dive headfirst into development on the Fantastic Four reboot, and tipster Mikey Sutton is claiming that the two franchises could share more than a little connective tissue. According to Sutton, similar to their comic book dynamic dating back decades, Peter Parker and Johnny Storm will quickly form a bond and become bickering best friends in the MCU.
There’s no word yet on what that means for Jacob Batalon’s Ned, although the insider did previously report that Peter’s current BFF was set to take a turn to the dark side and begin a slow-burn transformation into Hobgoblin, so if his intel pans out, there’s definitely a slot open for the Human Torch to become Spider-Man‘s new running buddy and confidant. Of course, this is all just speculation for now, but the MCU loves drawing inspiration from the comic books to inform the movies, so there’s every chance it could end up happening.
