As was the case with Spider-Man: No Way Home, Marvel Studios and Sony’s next Spidey collab has been subject to an absurd amount of rumors and speculation ahead of its expected Summer 2025 start of production. With so many wild and wide-ranging reports making the rounds, it has become incredibly difficult to make sense out of what to actually expect from the film when it hits theaters in 2026. However, assuming the studios intended to follow the path upon which they set their hero at the end of No Way Home, some possibilities do make more sense than others.
One of the more realistic routes the film might take would be to follow Peter Parker’s new life in which his old friends no longer remember him and he transitions to a more traditional Spider-Man. It’s reasonable to assume that might include Parker enrolling in college, perhaps at Empire State University, where, in the comics, he met a whole new group of characters who played major roles in his life including Harry Osborn and Gwen Stacy. And now a new report from a trusted insider has people beginning to believe that the latter may be headed to the MCU in Spider-Man 4.
According to Daniel Richtman, Marvel is considering Furiosa: A Mad Max and The Queen’s Gambit star Anya Taylor-Joy for an unknown role in Spider-Man 4.
While some corners of social media are flocking toward speculation that the actress may be in the running for the role of Felicia Hardy/Black Cat, another intriguing possibility has also generated some by buzz as fans consider that Taylor-Joy would make for a pretty damn great Gwen Stacy.
Of course, it speaks to both the actresses range of talents and popularity that Taylor-Joy’s name would be associated with two very different characters, both of whom played integral roles in both parts of Pete’s life. While this would mark the third live-action iteration of Gwen (with Bryce Dallas Howard and Emma Stone each having portrayed the characters in Sony’s previous Spider-Man franchises), Hardy has really never been fully realized in a Spider-Man film.
Certainly should Taylor-Joy portray one or the other of the two characters, it would not necessarily mean the other would be ruled out of an appearance in the film. Previous rumors have circulated that Marvel was interested in Sydney Sweeney and a “Madelyn Cline-type” actress for a role in the film. Either of those stars could arguably fill the role of Felicia Hardy alongside Taylor-Joy as Gwen. At this point, even though trades will likely break casting news in the new year, it may be some time before the true nature of the new film, and the roles within in, becomes clear.
Spider-Man 4 is currently expected to swing into theaters on July 24th, 2026.
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