Iron Man. Nick Fury and Maria Hill–or rather Talos and Soren. Doctor Strange. In each of the films in the MCU-set Spider-Man trilogy, Tom Holland’s Web-Slinger has teamed up with a Marvel hero to help save the day. The deal that Sony and Disney struck to co-create these films was all about the tradeoff: Marvel Studios can use Spidey in their films as long as some Marvel characters show up in the Sony Spidey films. And with a fourth installment in the franchise already in development—and probably already drafted by now despite having been webbed up a bit by the WGA strike–fans have been speculating which character(s) might show up next.
Among the most talked about potential partners for a team-up is Charlie Cox’s Daredevil. Cox made his MCU debut in Spider-Man: No Way Home and there have been plenty of rumors that the streaming series, Daredevil: Born Again, will set up part of the plot of Spider-Man 4. Those rumors certainly make sense given their extensive history of working together in the comic books and Daredevil turning up in the next film feels like a real possibility given Kevin Feige’s revelation that he and Spidey would lead the studio’s “street-level” heroes. Now, a new rumor from a credible MCU insider indicates that Cox may indeed be suiting up for the next MCU-set Spidey film…but he won’t be the only one!
According to insider Daniel RPK, who has had a torrid stretch of hitting big on Marvel Studios-related scoops, Spider-Man 4 will indeed feature Daredevil teaming up with Holland’s Spidey and, in a very unexpected twist, the film may also include Paul Rudd’s Scott Lang. Should Daredevil: Born Again set up Kingpin as the villain of the fourth Spidey film–something star Vincent D’Onofrio has gone on record as desiring on more than one occasion–including Daredevil makes sense but where would Scott Lang, who recently returned from an adventure in the Quantum Realm where he faced off with Kang, fit in?
Though it’s expected to undergo significant reshoots, photos from the set of Daredevil: Born Again taken in March 2023 were full of paraphernalia with the Pym van Dyne Foundation logo. If the rumor is true, it’s possible that Lang’s role in the film wouldn’t be major and that it could simply follow up on whatever role the Foundation has in Born Again. Though Lang and Spider-Man don’t have a long history of teaming up in the comics, they have worked together on occasion in the past and he has taken on a handful of Spidey’s villains and served as a street-level hero from time to time, even joining one iteration of Heroes for Hire. Of course, the appeal is less Ant-Man and more Rudd, who brings his trademark smarm to the role and would fit in nicely with Cox and Holland.
