Reddit leaker: 'Secret Wars' is coming. Could it be 'Avengers 5'?

Off the bat, let’s make one thing clear: The credibility to this rumor about Spider-Man, the next Avengers film, and a possible Secret Wars movie isn’t solid. It comes from Mikey Sutton, an established personality on various Marvel Reddit forums where users are divided over Sutton’s legitimacy as a leaker.

Some believe Sutton, some don’t. Only a handful of his reports have actually ever been all the way true. He allegedly knew about the cancellation of Hulu’s Ghost Rider series hours before it was officially reported. His biggest claim to fame — that Marvel and 20th Century Fox will work together on an X-Men film — didn’t really happen in any way he described back in 2015.

But because we’re all ga-ga for Spider-Man right now, it’s at least worth a moment of attention.

On Friday, the same day news outlets reported Marvel and Sony had worked out an arrangement for Spider-Man to continue existing in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Sutton, a writer for ComicBookMovie based in Seattle, wrote in a private Facebook group where he reveals his exclusive “information” that Marvel wants Tom Holland’s Spider-Man for a Secret Wars movie.

“Marvel Studios is seeking to have Tom Holland appear in Secret Wars,” Sutton wrote. “Whether this is the non-Spidey MCU film in the agreement signed by both parties last night remains to be seen, but there is no doubt by anyone on the Marvel side that Spider-Man will be in Secret Wars.”

As if that’s not enough, Sutton continues: “Not only that, but Marvel Studios is planning on having Spider-Man in a supporting role for The Fantastic Four as Reed Richards can be Peter Parker’s new mentor.”

The full text of Sutton’s post can be seen here, collected on r/marvelstudiosspoilers on Reddit. 

There’s a lot to unpack. First: What? Second: What?

As outlets like Deadline and The Hollywood Reporter published late last Friday, the renewed Marvel/Sony deal is for one more Sony-produced Spider-Man movie (Spider-Man 3) and one more MCU film, which can be anything. One would presume a fifth Avengers movie, or it could be Fantastic Four — a movie that Kevin Feige himself talked about at San Diego Comic-Con but mentioned no actual movement in regards to production. But not both.

Next, there’s Sutton’s buried lede of a Secret Wars movie. If, and that’s a big if, Marvel is producing an adaptation of Secret Wars, that could mean big things for the MCU. But that’s only if a Secret Wars movie is actually in development.

For the unitiated, Secret Wars is the name of two major Marvel crossovers. The first was in 1984, in which the cosmic entity the Beyonder sent Marvel’s most popular heroes to the alien planet, Battleworld, to fight each other. Perhaps the single biggest legacy of Secret Wars ‘84 was the introduction of the alien symbiote, which latched onto Spider-Man. On Earth, the symbiote would later find a new host in Eddie Brock, forming Venom.

The second Secret Wars came in 2015, in which Marvel did its own DC Comics-style reboot and folded its separate universes into one entity. The main legacy of the nine-issue crossover was the destruction of the popular Ultimate Marvel canon, which had a direct aesthetic inspiration on the MCU.

A movie based on Secret Wars would be a huge deal — we’re talking Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame huge. Secret Wars could easily play as the second over-arching story for Marvel’s new, post-Thanos phases because it’s just that big. It really could be the fifth Avengers movie. But its also makes rumors about its potential adaptation to reek of bull, because it just sounds like projecting fanfiction.

Finally, there’s the matter of the Fantastic Four, and Sutton writing that Spider-Man could find a new mentor in Reed Richards. Again, that’s a stretch. (Ha, get it? Because it’s Mister Fantastic…)

Beyond the matter of just how far along work on a Marvel Fantastic Four movie is going — Has the studio even hired writers to draft a script? How many drafts have been completed? There are lots of questions that are impossible to answer — the mere idea of Reed mentoring Spider-Man just sounds half-baked. But fans will eat it up because it’s happened (barely) in the comics.

As Spider-Man: Far From Home illustrated, Tom Holland’s Spider-Man has no more need for mentors. He’s fully grown into his own superhero. That’s what that whole scene in the jet was about. Peter Parker has earned his stripes and doesn’t need to be taught anything. That was the whole point of Happy playing AC/DC’s “Back in Black” — it was the song that introduced Tony Stark to the MCU in Iron Man.

Is Sutton to be believed? You’re free to believe him or anyone else on the internet. I only urge you to simply check your sources.