SPIDER-MAN 4: OUTER BANKS Star Madelyn Cline Rumored To Be Up For Mysterious Female Lead Role.

The still untitled Spider-Man 4, which recently enlisted Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings director Destin Daniel Cretton to helm, is scheduled to begin filming next year, and while official plot details have yet to be disclosed, the rumors have really begun to pick up steam over the past few weeks. We have heard that the movie will introduce at least one new female lead, and according to Deux Moi - whose occasional scoops usually prove to be on the money - Madelyn Cline is up for the role. We don't have any more to go on, but there's already speculation that Cline might be in contention to play Felicia Hardy, aka Black Cat, who has been rumored to appear.

Felicity Jones played Hardy in The Amazing Spider-Man movies, but never suited-up as her costumed alter-ego. Anne Hathaway - who played Catwoman in The Dark Knight Rises - was all set to debut as an earlier version of the character in Sam Raimi's fourth Spider-Man movie before the plug was pulled. Cline will probably be best known for her role as Sarah Cameron on the Netflix teen drama series, Outer Banks, and she also played as Whiskey in Rian Johnson's Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery. Previous rumours have claimed that Spider-Man 4 will introduce two new villains, and Tom Holland's Friendly Neighbourhood Wall-Crawler will also have to contend with an old foe in the form of Michael Keaton's Vulture. Casting is said to be underway for a new group of classmates for Peter.

Who could these new villains be? Another recent rumor claimed that Robert Downey Jr.'s Doctor Doom will appear, so he might count as one. We have also heard that the movie will introduce a bad guy who hasn't featured in any previous live-action Spider-Man movie. Sony's Tom Rothman and Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige have reportedly had some disagreements when it comes to the story of Spider-Man 4, with the latter hoping to scale the Multiverse stuff back for a smaller adventure. Rothman, meanwhile, is said to want to capitalize on No Way Home's success by bringing Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield back as their respective takes on Peter Parker.

More recently, we heard that both studios had settled on a mostly grounded story with some Multiversal elements, though the movie is still being described as an "Avengers-level event." There are also rumors that Spider-Man 4 will see Parker join forces with Venom to battle Knull, who will be introduced in Venom: The Last Dance. Tom Holland will, of course, be back as the MCU's Spidey alongside Zendaya as MJ - though Deadline's report of Cretton taking the gig noted that their deals have yet to officially close. "We have the best in the business working toward whatever the story might be," Holland said in a recent interview. "But until we’ve cracked it, we have a legacy to protect. The third movie was so special in so many ways that we need to make sure we do the right thing." No Way Home scribes Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers are writing the script. The movie scheduled to swing into theaters on July 24, 2026.