Marvel Studios needs to carefully develop Spider-Man 4, especially after what has happened with Sony’s Madame Web. Apart from being one of the lowest-rated Marvel films on Rotten Tomatoes (12%, based on 195 critic reviews), SSU’s latest entry has also failed to lure viewers to theatres. It has earned only $52 million in its opening week, which is drastically low compared to the previous SSU instalments.
However, not all reviews for Madame Web are horrible. Some critics have actually praised the film as a breezy entertainer. But considering the MCU’s current scale and Marvel Studios’ future ambitions for the franchise, fans will not accept Spider-Man 4 as a breezy entertainer.
There are some key things that Marvel Studios needs to consider to make Spider-Man 4 memorable and worthy of being a part of the MCU’s Multiverse Saga. First and foremost, the fourth MCU Spidey instalment should be more grounded than No Way Home (2021). NWH was undoubtedly an emotionally rich and satisfying experience for Marvel fans, as it officially established a solid bridge between the MCU and the SSU. Watching the return of Andrew Garfield’s and Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Men was something that we will never ever forget. But this scenario also raises the question: Will the MCU be able to top this reunion? The answer to that is it does not need to. The final scene of NWH promises a new chapter in Peter Parker’s life. We expect Spider-Man 4 to explore Peter’s struggle in balancing his superhero life with his real one (a struggling photographer for Daily Bugle and occasionally working as a research scientist). This would be more comic-accurate.
This is where Madame Web failed miserably. Instead of properly focusing on Cassandra Webb’s origin story, the latest Dakota Johnson starrer added a significant amount of lore to the Spider-Man universe before Peter Parker’s birth. We witnessed three different versions of Spider-Woman in the film: Julia Cornwall (Sydney Sweeney), Anya Corazon (Isabela Merced), and Mattie Franklin (Celeste O’Connor). On top of this, we get some backstory of Ben Parker (Peter’s uncle) and his connection with Cassandra Webb. We should not have expected Sony to treat all these characters properly in a film that has a runtime of less than 2 hours.
In addition, Spider-Man 4 will work amazingly well if it gets a unique supervillain. Tahar Rahim’s take on Ezekiel Sims was lame. Even his costume looked pretty similar to Spider-Man’s. All this still could have worked if Sims’ characterisation had more solidity.
Scorpion (teased in Spider-Man: Homecoming’s post-credits scene) would be an intriguing addition to Spider-Man 4. The character’s addition would give the project a proper street-level feel. We should not also ignore the odds of Wilson Fisk, aka Kingpin, becoming the main adversary in the fourth Spidey flick. His arrival may give us a chance to watch the chemistry between Spider-Man and Daredevil.
Marvel Studios plans to release Spider-Man 4 in 2026. Meanwhile, you can watch Madame Web in theatres (if you have the heart for it). Stay tuned for more updates.
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