Marvel Studios has the perfect choice of villain for Spider-Man 4 after the Russo brothers revealed how much of Marvel Comics will inspire Phase 6’s upcoming Avengers: Doomsday and Secret Wars. Tom Holland was confirmed to return as Peter Parker in a new trilogy of Spider-Man movies in the MCU in November 2021, shortly before the release of Spider-Man: No Way Home. There has been some dispute about what Spider-Man 4 will be about, but its release date and new details regarding other Phase 6 movies set the stage for one perfect Marvel Comics story to be adapted.

In recent months, not only has Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings director Destin Daniel Cretton been confirmed to be leading Spider-Man 4, but cast details have also started to emerge. Holland and Zendaya are expected to return, while Stranger Things’ Sadie Sink has also been cast in an undisclosed role. While this is exciting, it’s still unclear what story will unfold and what villains Peter Parker will fight in Spider-Man 4. Scheduled to release between Doomsday and Secret Wars, there’s only one perfect villain for Peter Parker in 2026’s Spider-Man 4.

The Russo Brothers’ Comments Make Me Think Spider-Man Will Get His Black Costume In Avengers: Doomsday

Doomsday & Secret Wars Will Be Inspired By Both Of Marvel Comics’ Secret Wars Events

During a recent conversation with TechRadar, the Russo brothers, returning MCU directors leading Avengers: Doomsday and Secret Wars, revealed which Marvel Comics storylines would inspire Phase 6’s upcoming crossover movies. While there was some discussion about whether these movies would take notes from 1984’s Secret Wars or 2015’s story of the same name, the Russo brothers have now confirmed they’ll take inspiration from both. This sets up some wild events for Avengers: Doomsday and Secret Wars, including one featuring Spider-Man.

Well, we always create our own version of the story, so, we use the comics as loose inspiration. But, you know, I grew up on the original run. That’s something that got me into Marvel comic books. The Hickman run is also fantastic [and they’re] very different from each other in a lot of ways, so we’ll draw inspiration from both of them.

One of the most transformative events of 1984’s Secret Wars storyline saw Peter Parker gain his black Spider-Man costume for the first time. The black costume grants Spider-Man even more power, and his acquisition of it leads directly into the Alien Costume Saga, which saw Parker return to New York from Battleworld while keeping the suit. The costume can disguise itself as casual clothing, create its own webbing, and operate Parker’s body even while he’s asleep, leading Mister Fantastic to eventually surmise that the costume is, in fact, a living symbiotic creature: enter Venom.

Venom Would Be The Perfect Villain For Spider-Man 4 After Peter Parker’s Costume Upgrade

Tom Holland’s Spider-Man Getting The Black Suit Sets Up Venom In The MCU

The idea that Tom Holland’s Peter Parker could receive his black Spider-Man costume in Avengers: Doomsday means that the Alien Costume Saga could form the basis for Spider-Man 4’s storyline, which releases only two months later. This means that the Symbiote Venom is the perfect villain for Spider-Man 4, offering Marvel Studios a fantastic opportunity to redesign and revitalize the iconic Spider-Man villain after Tom Hardy’s portrayal in Sony’s doomed Spider-Man Universe. Venom has already been teased in the MCU, so this is the perfect story for Phase 6.

Doctor Strange’s initial botched spell in Spider-Man: No Way Home brought Tom Hardy’s Eddie Brock and Venom into the MCU’s Earth-616, while he was returned to the SSU at the end of No Way Home without ever having met Peter Parker. Nevertheless, a small piece of the Venom Symbiote was left behind in a Mexican bar, and this piece may have spent the last several years growing in strength and size. This means Venom can return triumphant and altered in Avengers: Doomsday and Spider-Man 4, which makes Tom Holland’s sequel even more exciting.

How Venom Can Be Different (& Better) In The MCU

Tom Hardy Played Venom In Sony’s Spider-Man Universe Between 2018 & 2024

Tom Hardy first appeared as Venom in the eponymous 2018 movie, and returned in 2021’s Let There Be Carnage and 2024’s The Last Dance. However, the ending of The Last Dance and the cancelation of Sony’s Spider-Man Universe after Kraven the Hunter’s dismal performance means Hardy likely won’t reprise the role. Instead, Marvel Studios can introduce Venom officially to the MCU, allowing a complete rejuvenation of the legendary villain, who can be vastly different and much more powerful and comic-accurate in the MCU proper.

Venom can be depicted as an honest-to-goodness villain for Peter Parker’s Spider-Man in the MCU, rather than the antihero that the SSU introduced. Venom’s connection to Spider-Man is intense and personal in Marvel Comics, but this was never realized in the SSU, and this is something that Marvel Studios can put front-and-center. Venom could also be hosted by other characters instead of Eddie Brock in the MCU, so Avengers: Doomsday and Spider-Man 4 can set up the villain for a much brighter future than he ever had under Sony’s thumb.

Upcoming MCU Movies

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  Thunderbolts*

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  May 2, 2025
  

  
  
  
  

  
  

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  The Fantastic Four: First Steps

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  July 25, 2025
  

  
  
  
  

  
  

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  Avengers: Doomsday (2026)

  
  
  
  
  

  
  

  
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  MCU Spider-Man 4

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  July 24, 2026
  

  
  
  
  

  
  

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  Avengers: Secret Wars

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  May 7, 2027
  

  
  
  
  

  
  

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