When Should The MCU Debut A New Spider-Man to Replace Tom Holland?

Spider-Man: Brand New Day has finally given the MCU the Spider-Man that fans have always wanted, and there are already talks of replacing him. Tom Holland has spoken about who should replace him in the MCU and has already confirmed that the MCU has plans to introduce Miles Morales eventually. So, it seems that Holland’s Peter Parker won’t be the only Spider-Man for long, leading to lots of speculation regarding who will come next, and when they will replace Holland.

Several recent Spider-Man projects, including PlayStation’s Spider-Man 2 and the Spider-Verse films, have told stories where multiple Spider heroes operate simultaneously, something that has been met with a mixed reaction. While this is a possibility in the MCU, it seems unlikely, especially because having two separate Spider-Man movie series in the same continuity running simultaneously seems a bit messy. So, if another mainline Spider-Man is introduced, they will probably replace Holland. That just leaves one question: when?

We Need At Least A Full Trilogy With Brand New Day’s Spider-Man Before He Is Replaced

A common complaint from MCU fans throughout the first Spider-Man trilogy is that Holland’s Spidey never felt like Spider-Man. He was too young, lacked confidence, and hardly ever operated in New York City. This is one of the reasons why Brand New Day was received so positively, as it finally transformed Holland’s character into the Spider-Man that fans have longed for. Now, Spidey is confident, quippy, in New York City, has a rogue’s gallery, and, without the help of the Avengers, is struggling to balance his superhero life with his personal one. This is who Spider-Man is supposed to be, and with three movies of build-up to get here, it would be a shame to replace him after only one.

So, no matter what, Holland’s Spider-Man shouldn’t be replaced until the conclusion of his second trilogy. After all, it would be odd for the buildup to last longer than the payoff. Since Jon Watts got an entire trilogy, it only makes sense for Destin Daniel Cretton to get a trilogy to explore his take on Spider-Man as well.

No Way Home concluded Peter’s high school days, and with the opening montage of Brand New Day skipping his college years, we are now firmly in the adult Spider-Man stage. However, there are still tons of iconic Peter Parker stories that haven’t yet been explored. For example, despite it being teased, we haven’t seen Peter get his black suit yet. On top of that, Peter hasn’t met his universe’s Norman or Harry Osborn, or other major Spider-Man characters like Gwen Stacy or Black Cat. With his relationship with MJ ending in Brand New Day, there are still multiple love interests to explore, enemies to be made, and villains to take on.

While it is impossible for Holland’s Spider-Man movies to explore every well-known Peter Parker story, giving him two more movies at least allows the MCU to knock out a major chunk of them. It may be hard to continue to evolve Holland’s character as a protagonist after six movies, but after only four, there is still a lot of ground to cover, especially considering how personal the story of Brand New Day was.

Peter’s Replacement Could Appear In One Of The Next 2 Films Before Taking The Mantle In Spider-Man 7

While Peter shouldn’t be fully replaced until the end of the Brand New Day trilogy, that doesn’t mean that his replacement has to wait until Spider-Man 7 to appear. After all, it is entirely possible that the next Spider-Man could appear in the movies, even if they don’t have superpowers yet.

The most obvious successor is Miles Morales, and based on Holland’s comments, his appearance in the MCU is near-confirmed. Miles could easily make his first appearance as a minor character in Spider-Man 5, simply as a cameo introducing him to audiences. Then, Spider-Man 6 could feature the events that lead to him getting powers, setting him up as the next Spider-Man.

This naturally sets Miles up as a successor while still giving the MCU time to explore Holland’s iteration. By introducing Miles earlier but not turning him into Spider-Man until the seventh film, this gives the MCU several options as to how to handle Holland’s character. If Holland wants to continue playing the character, he could be a mentor to Miles, with the seventh film focusing on them operating together before Miles becomes a solo hero in the sequels. Or, Holland’s character could die in the sixth or seventh film, letting Miles fully take the reins in Spider-Man 7.

The same applies if Holland’s successor is Gwen Stacy, Ben Reilly, or anyone else. The transition from Holland to his successor will be one of the most difficult to balance feats that the MCU will ever have to pull off, but the aforementioned guidance may help Marvel stick the landing.

What do you think? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!

After Five Years, Spider-Man: Brand New Day Actually Delivers on Marvel’s Promise