Well, this is a surprise—and maybe it isn’t one. Destin Daniel Cretton, the filmmaker behind Marvel’s “Shang-Chi: The Legend Of The Ten Rings,” has been tapped to direct the upcoming fourth Spider-Man film for Sony Pictures, which Marvel Studios will produce.
The news is surprising because Cretton was expected to direct the next “Shang Chi” sequel, and presumably, he is not now, as ‘Spider-Man 4’ is reportedly being fast-tracked for a summer 2026 release. The untitled ‘Shang-Chi’ sequel has no current release date, but it’s also been speculated to receive a winter 2026 release date, but who knows?
READ MORE: ‘Avengers: The Kang Dynasty’: Director Destin Daniel Cretton Exits Marvel Film
The news is not so surprising in that Cretton was supposed to direct “Avengers: Kang Dynasty” but left the project (before it evolved into “Avengers: Doomsday”) due to concerns with overseeing the “Wonder Man” series. At the time, despite his departure, the filmmaker was said to still be very interested in staying within the Marvel family.
Tom Holland will reprise his role as “Spider-Man,” but given the film is something of a reset—given the events of “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” Aunt Parker dying and Doctor Strange’s spell erasing Peter Parker from all of the Earth’s memory—it’s unclear if anyone from the original cast including Zendaya will return.
Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers are back on script duties, while Marvel chief Kevin Feige and former Sony head Amy Pascal are producing.
Rumors had it for several months that Marvel and Sony were arguing about the direction of the film, with Marvel apparently favoring a street-level, more-grounded film, and Sony inclined towards another multiverse story, but a) it’s unclear if those rumors were true at all, and b) if so, what direction they landed on.
Presumably, if that were some battle, they wouldn’t have landed on a director either way unless he agreed to the creative take. Jon Watts directed the “Spider-Man” trilogy before this, but it seems he left Marvel to do his own original projects as he just released his last movie, “Wolfs.”
The ‘Spider-Man’ movies are now a $1 billion franchise—the multiverse-heavy “Spider-Man: No Way Home” earned almost $2 billion during the pandemic. Sources tell THR that this fourth film will shoot early next year, which makes 2026 a sure bet.
Questions remain. Will the “Shang Chi” sequel be directed by someone else? Will it wait a beat so Cretton can direct that down the line? Time will tell.