Spider-Man 4 might have one major Marvel cameo that no one is going to see coming. This week, Destin Daniel Cretton was reported to be the man behind the camera for Spider-Man’s next MCU adventure. Of course, the Internet blazed with commentary on how Shang-Chi might find his way into a team-up with the popular Avenger. But, there’s another longtime Cretton collaborator that you need to keep your eyes on. Longtime fans will remember that Brie Larson cameoed in the post-credits scene from Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. As a familiar face in most of the director’s work, it would make sense to see her pop-up again in some capacity to help Spider-Man.
Before the movie even came out in 2019, MTV News asked Cretton about bringing Larson aboard for Shang-Chi. As you would expect, he mentioned that there were ways to get that done. The director said, “I mean, I think there’s always room for Brie. But, I don’t know.” (Cretton said, full and well knowing that Captain Marvel and Bruce Banner would both pop-up as big post-credits surprises.) For now, the only things we know about Spider-Man 4 is that Tom Holland would be returning as Peter Parker and the Shang-Chi director would be the one helping make this movie. But, there’s just a lot of possibility for every angle moving forward.
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With such an empty campus, Spider-Man 4 could really take on a multitude of shapes. There’s been tons of digital ink spilled about the possibility of a street level story featuring Daredevil and Kingpin. A massive crime war erupting in New York City with possible superpowered combatants would seem to be enough to scare Captain Marvel out of her new home base of Louisiana. On the other hand, if Spider-Man 4 ends up going the Multiverse conflict route, it would only make sense to have Carol Danvers be along for the ride against a massive threat that would put reality at risk once again.
What Would Be Big Enough To Have All These Characters Show Up?
As much as one segment of Marvel fans wouldn’t like it to be true, this is The Multiverse Saga. While the loudest viewers on social media just want the small neighborhood-focused Spider-Man story teased by the end of Spider-Man: No Way Home, there might be bigger fish to fry sadly. There have been approximately 8,000 incursions since Phase 4 began. At some point, it’s going to be hard to put the horses back in the barn at the end of one of these movies. (To wit, Peter Parker’s last MCU adventure saw him create one heck of a rift in the fabric of reality that had to be closed.) So, there’s some precedent there.
If Tom Holland’s Webslinger has to go without multiverse help this time from Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield, maybe Earth’s actual Avengers can step in to help? Shang-Chi and Captain Marvel are two heroes not busy with the goings on up in space, or Adamantium mining, or preventing incursions in the Dark Dimension. If things got weird enough, even Daredevil could come and lift a hand in a pinch. (The moment where Danvers doesn’t remember Spider-Man’s name after Avengers: Endgame is going to be a gut-punch in theaters.) Still, with the road to Avengers: Secret Wars absolutely still going strong, it does make a measure of sense for the Wall-Crawler to have unfinished Multiverse business.
Nothing is more normal for cinematic Spider-Man than problems following him through multiple movies. (In fact, it’s another thing that he seems to have inherited from Tony Stark. I know, I know, sore subject.) Things were supposed to wrap up for a new chapter at the end of Spider-Man: No Way Home. But, all the recent reports make it feel like something else is in the cards entirely. Marvel fans really like Zendaya and Holland together. It’s hard to imagine that a Spider-Man 4 would split the couple up. (Yes, despite the events of the last movie making her memories a sacrifice.) So, could the union be the catalyst for even more personal trouble for our hero next time around?
Spider-Man 4 Could Be The Marvel Reunion Tour To Set Up Avengers: Doomsday
An easy enough hook for the movie could be Spider-Man falling into dark habits and being depressed. He has to realize that he needs help when insurmountable odds arrive. Captain Marvel literally just learned about teamwork and communication in The Marvels. Shang-Chi’s solo adventure was about embracing all the parts of yourself to achieve your true potential. Getting the cameos along with those themes is just the cherry on top.?
ComicBook’s Phase Zero podcast previously asked the filmmaker about including his friend in the post-credits scene. It was pretty surreal, but Cretton really enjoyed reuniting with Larson. Getting the chance to have another big MCU reunion might be too good to pass up.
“It was really cool,” Cretton told us. “When she showed up, and I went and said hi to her in her trailer, and we caught up a bit because I hadn’t seen her in a while, and then I went to set. We got everything ready for her, and then she stepped onto set as Captain Marvel, and that’s the first time I’ve ever seen her in that costume up close, and it was super surreal. We both just started laughing because … I mean, I think Simu and I had many moments like this too where we’d just look at each other just going like, ‘What the hell are we doing here?’?
He added, “That’s how we felt on that stage. When we were on that stage in front of those 8,000 fans, we were just like … As soon as we stepped off, we started laughing, and that’s what it was between Brie and I on that set, just like, ‘What am I doing in that director’s chair, and what are you doing in that suit?’ But yeah. It was a joy to see her.”
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