The MCU’s Spider-Man 4 is moving forward, and Tom Holland’s next film as Peter Parker will have to make a difficult choice after No Way Home.

Tom Holland will return as Peter Parker in Spider-Man 4, and the upcoming Marvel Cinematic Universe will have quite the task, as it needs to follow up the tremendous success of Spider-Man: No Way Home. Holland has become extremely popular as Peter, leading a trilogy of Spider-Man movies in the MCU and appearing in multiple other crossover projects, such as Marvel’s Avengers films. Given how beloved his version of the character is, Holland should be sticking around the MCU for quite some time, with a possible new Spider-Man trilogy ahead of him.

Currently, updates on Spider-Man 4, the first film in a possible new trilogy, have been scarce. The project had to halt development last year due to the 2023 Hollywood strikes. After work on the movie’s story resumed, multiple rumors came out regarding Marvel Studios and Sony possibly having different visions for the project. Holland’s latest Spider-Man movie — No Way Home — presented a major challenge for the franchise’s future that could be the cause of the new movie’s rumored behind-the-scenes problems. With Spider-Man 4‘s filming start revealed in a new report, the MCU movie needs to succeed in a daunting task.

Spider-Man: No Way Home Is The Highest-Grossing Spider-Man Movie Ever

The MCU Film Was A Generational Event

Holland’s Spider-Man 4 will have the daunting task of following the most successful Spider-Man movie ever. According to the specialized box office tracking website Box Office Mojo, 2021’s Spider-Man: No Way Home amassed just shy of $2 billion at the box office, with the MCU movie boasting a healthy $1.92 billion worldwide — with no China release. Spider-Man: No Way Home‘s astonishing box office totals put the movie as an Avengers-level event, and as such, it becomes very hard for another solo entry in Holland’s Spider-Man franchise to match or surpass the successful movie.

Spider-Man: No Way Home was a cinematic event three generations in the making. The movie brought together Tobey Maguire, Andrew Garfield, and Tom Holland’s versions of Spider-Man, as well as a few villains from the previous two Spider-Man movie franchises — including Willem Dafoe’s Green Goblin and Alfred Molina’s Doc Ock, both iconic Marvel castings. Fans had been asking for quite some time to see the three movie Spider-Men join forces, and the movie managed to show how perfectly the three actors behind Peter Parker fit together. Following an event that was only possible due to decades of buildup is hard.

Tom Holland’s Spider-Man 4 Has A Major Choice To Make

The Franchise Needs To Pick Between Very Different Paths

Spider-Man 4 could take one of two routes to follow Spider-Man: No Way Home‘s success, with Sony and Marvel rumored to each be partial to one side. As part of the Multiverse Saga, Holland’s Spider-Man 4 could once again go to the multiverse for its story, bringing back Maguire and Garfield’s Spider-Men. As the characters showed up late in Spider-Man: No Way Home, the other Peter Parkers being in Spider-Man 4 from the start would guarantee the movie would be a major success, with good chances of even topping Spider-Man:No Way Home‘s box office.

On the other hand, Spider-Man: No Way Home‘s ending seemed to set up Peter Parker to have a smaller-scale adventure. The prospect of a street-level Spider-Man 4 has been well-received by fans, and exciting characters like Kraven the Hunter and Black Cat could make their MCU debut in such a type of movie. The MCU is setting up a major story with Kingpin as the Mayor of New York City, and Spider-Man 4 adapting a version of “Devil’s Reign” with Daredevil and other street-level heroes and villains would make the film a major event without the need for the multiverse.

Spider-Man: No Way Home Already Set Up Spider-Man 4

Peter Parker Is At His Lowest In The MCU

Spider-Man: No Way Home ended with Doctor Strange’s spell making everyone forget who Peter Parker was. Holland’s Spider-Man 4 could build up on that to present a Spider-Man movie that brings the character back to the basics after a series of MCU crossovers. Out of high school, Spider-Man 4 could follow Peter in college, introducing Gwen Stacy and Harry Osborn as his classmates. Peter working at the Daily Bugle under J. Jonah Jameson, the MCU’s Norman Osborn getting introduced, and new love interests emerging could be the path for Spider-Man 4 to follow Spider-Man: No Way Home.

A classic Spider-Man story with iconic characters tied to the hero in the comics would be perfect for Spider-Man 4. The MCU’s version of Peter is beloved; however, Marvel has faced criticism due to Spider-Man being deeply tied to Iron Man and other MCU characters. By having Peter all alone, Marvel can use Spider-Man 4 to deliver a classic Spider-Man comic book story, with a street-level tale that serves as the perfect stepping stone for Holland’s Peter Parker to once again deal with multiversal threats in the two upcoming Avengers movies.