Tom Holland's Spider-Man trilogy. However, that does not mean that the duo has to appear in every movie where Peter Parker is the lead, and the MCU has already set up the perfect way to shake up the Spider-Man franchise.
MJ and Ned could take a leave of absence after the events of Spider-Man: No Way Home's ending. The multiverse movie saw Doctor Strange craft a spell that stopped many threats from all over the multiverse from coming to Earth-616, but in doing so, everyone who knew Holland's Peter Parker had to forget who he was. Peter then chooses not to tell MJ and Ned about their history to keep them safe, going off to live alone after Aunt May's death. That could lead to a new status quo and some friendships from the comics coming to the MCU.
Gwen Stacy & Harry Osborn Are The Perfect MJ & Ned Replacements
It's Time For The MCU To Introduce The Classic Spider-Man Characters
If the MCU continues to keep Peter apart from MJ and Ned in Spider-Man 4, then the movie can look to the comics for the ideal replacements for the characters. Marvel Studios could finally use Gwen Stacy and Harry Osborn, two classic characters who have appeared in countless Spider-Man stories in different mediums, be it comics, video games, animation, live-action films, and more. So far, the MCU has only teased Harry through Willem Dafoe's Norman Osborn looking for his son when he gets to Earth-616 in Spider-Man: No Way Home and Gwen through Andrew Garfield's Spider-Man.
I Still Have Hope For Andrew Garfield's MCU Return In Spider-Man 4 Despite His Recent Comments
Andrew Garfield has addressed whether he will be in Tom Holland's Spider-Man 4, and after a major MCU update, I'm confident he could still appear.
While they possess very different personalities from Peter Parker's MCU friends, Gwen Stacy and Harry Osborn could occupy the roles that Zendaya's MJ and Jacob Batalon's Ned play in Peter's life. Spider-Man 4's story could slowly set up Peter to move on from MJ and enter a relationship with Gwen, who is one of his most popular romantic interests, bringing back the main romance of The Amazing Spider-Man franchise. Harry Osborn is Peter Parker's most famous best friend, and replacing Ned, who does not fill that role in the comics, he could become the closest person to Holland's Spider-Man.
Gwen And Harry Already Have The Perfect Setup For An MCU Debut
The Comics Show A Natural Path For The MCU
Besides Doctor Strange's spell making Ned and MJ forget who Peter Parker was, Spider-Man: No Way Home also set up Gwen and Harry to take up their places in another key way. The MCU movie's ending had a shot of a book that Peter was using to study to take a test and get his high school diploma equivalent. That means Spider-Man 4 could follow Peter enrolling in college. In Marvel Comics, Peter first met both Gwen Stacy and Harry Osborn in college, so the MCU could go on the same path for the characters' debuts.
Spider-Man 4
- Release Date
- July 31, 2026
- Director
- Destin Daniel Cretton
- Writers
- Chris McKenna, Erik Sommers, Stan Lee
- Prequel(s)
- Spider-Man: No Way Home
- Franchise(s)
- Spider-Man
Cast
Spider-Man / Peter Parker
Michelle Jones
Jacob BatalonNed Leeds
Spider-Man 4 is the first sequel to the MCU's Spider-Man trilogy starring Tom Holland as the titular wall-crawler. After wiping his identity for the public's memory in Spider-Man: No Way Home, Peter Parker continues his crime-fighting adventures without the aid of Iron Man technology or the of his former allies.
