Why Spider-Man's Marvel Phase 4 return could introduce Miles Morales to MCU
If you think about what's coming right before the next Spider-Man movie, this makes a ton of sense.
Spider-Man is officially back in the Marvel Cinematic Universe! (It’s almost as if that whole Sony-Disney split was just a publicity stunt.) The studios announced a new deal on Friday, confirmin that Tom Holland will reprise the role of Peter Parker in at least one more Spider-Man movie along with another Marvel film (did someone say Avengers 5?).
But the biggest news of the day may be the Spider-Man 3 release date, which is officially set for July 16, 2021. That’s exciting news for any fans of the web-slinging crime-fighter, but it’s even more exciting when you consider how that premiere slots into Marvel’s already announced Phase Four timeline.
Marvel Phase 4
Spider-Man 3 will release just a couple of months after Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. That should ring serious alarm bells for anyone who remembers that this year’s Spider-Man: Far From Home dangled the concept of a multiverse in front of viewers only to yank it away as a Mysterio illusion. However, the upcoming Doctor Strange sequel is set to bring the actual multiverse to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
To make things even more exciting, let’s consider the implications of what a multiverse could mean for Spider-Man. If you’ve been rewatching Into the Spider-Verse on Netflix on a loop for months like some people (me), you’ve already figured this part out. If not, I’ll spell it out for you:
Marvel could use the multiverse to bring Miles Morales into the MCU.
Think about it. There’s no way that Spider-Man 3 release date is random. Marvel Studios doesn’t do random. And now that Disney and Sony are friends again, opening up a hole in the multiverse could be the perfect way to bridge the divide between the MCU and Sony’s slowly-expanding Spider-Man Cinematic Universe, Miles included.
Sure, Miles Morales could join the MCU, but so could Venom, or Morbius, or even Spider-Ham. The possibilities are endless, which is sort of the point of a multiverse in the first place, at least from a story-telling perspective.
'Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse'
Of course, it’s also worth considering how those Disney+ Marvel shows could figure into the broader MCU with regards to Spider-Man. WandaVision is expected to lead right into Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, and it’s rumored to be connected to this whole multiverse plotline. Meanwhile, Loki is also scheduled for “Spring 2021” but seems to come after Doctor Strange and before Spider-Man 3. It’s tempting to imagine the trickster Norse god playing a key role in Spidey’s next movie, but as far as we know, Loki’s Disney+ show is pretty far removed from the rest of the MCU.
The more likely possibility is that Marvel is basically setting us up for a live-action Spider-Verse, and as much as we’d love to see Spider-Ham yakking it up with Professor Hulk in Avengers 5, we’re guessing that the next Spider to join the Marvel Cinematic Universe will be none other than Miles Morales.
Spider-Man 3: Home Depot hits theaters on July 16, 2021.
