The well-oiled hit content-producing machine famed as the Marvel Cinematic Universe has of late seen a slew of hits and misses at the box office. Following Avengers: Endgame, the expectations from the Kevin Feige-led studio have reached sky-high. However, it has yet to meet those and churn out a live-action project for the big screens of that scale and hype.
Notably, the only major exclusion from this would be Spider-Man: No Way Home, which not only marked a solemn end to the first trilogy of Tom Holland films, but also gave Marvel Studios its biggest cash stash since the 2019 mega-movie. Looking to continue this streak, along with Sony, the studio is eagerly looking to push out a fourth film and rumors hold that it has settled on the director duo of Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah to complete the job following the exit of Jon Watts.
Potential Spider-Man 4 co-director plays coy about rumors
Fresh after helming the director’s chair for the Will Smith and Martin Lawrence flick, Bad Boys: Ride or Die, Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah stand as the probable front-runners for bringing the next Tom Holland Spider-Man movie to life. The early wave of rumors spread like wildfire and fueled fan speculations everywhere. Looking for confirmation, MDC, a page on X, asked Fallah about the possibility. In response, he simply shied away while mouthing “I cannot talk about that” to the camera.
The co-director of 'BATGIRL' and 'BAD BOYS' avoided answering whether the rumors about directing 'SPIDER-MAN 4' were true. 👀🕸️pic.twitter.com/egSaEpEC1J
— MCU Film News (@MCUFilmNews) May 25, 2024
The dynamic duo has previously overseen big projects, including two of the Bad Boys franchise and movies like Black, Gangsta, and even Marvel’s Disney+ show, Ms. Marvel. Additionally, they actively developed DC’s Batgirl movie, which ultimately got scrapped after the Warner Bros. Discovery merger. Additionally, their creative voice involves smooth fight sequences and fleshed-out character development, sparking hope for Marvel Studios.
Interestingly, directorial duos such as the Russo Brothers have long aided the MCU with the brothers having delivered on all of its biggest projects. Moreover, for Arbi and Fallah, their ability to introduce new themes and narratives while blending their signature style of action makes a strong case for them, leading the charge for the next Spidey flick.
Tom Holland drops major Spider-Man 4 update
The brutally emotional end of Spider-Man: No Way Home gave Tom Holland a fresh slate to start from. At a time when speculations arose of his return to a possible next, he confirmed to Deadline that he would indeed return. Furthermore, he also opened up about being extensively involved in the creative process.
Wary of not damaging the reputation and story arc set up by the $1.9 billion grossing last movie, the actor insisted that he would not rush and rather “make sure we do the right thing”.
This is the first time in this process that I’ve been part of the creative so early. It’s just a process where I’m watching and learning. It’s just a really fun stage for me. Like I said, everyone wants it to happen. But we want to make sure we’re not overdoing the same things.
The current state of affairs has pitched Spider-Man to become a more grounded and street-level character alongside the likes of Daredevil. Moreover, Marvel Studios wants the character to face his comic adversary, Kingpin, and has already prepared the ground for the same in the Disney+ series, Echo. Finally, he is also expected to take on a mature role ahead from now on, leading to Avengers: Secret Wars.
Spider-Man: No Way Home is available Disney+.
