Shang-Chi 2, Naruto, and now potentially Spider-Man 4? It sounds like Destin Daniel Cretton has a lot on his plate
The director seems to be in Marvel's good books.
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It looks like Marvel has finally found a director for Spider-Man 4 in a familiar face - Shang-Chi's Destin Daniel Cretton.
There's long been talk of a potential Spider-Man 4, including from the current incarnation of the character Tom Holland himself, but not much has been set in stone for it so far. That appears to be changing though, as The Hollywood Reporter shared yesterday that Shang-Chi director Destin Daniel Cretton is currently in talks to direct Spider-Man 4. It doesn't sound like things are 100% locked in quite yet, though this is the closest Marvel appears to have gotten with signing on a director - it was reported earlier this year that Fast & Furious director Justin Lin was being eyed-up for it, but that appears to have not worked out.
Of course, Cretton's involvement does leave one big question: does he even have time for it? The director is meant to be working on Shang-Chi 2, as well as a live-action adaptation of Naruto that was supposedly meant to be coming before the Marvel sequel - he was also attached to direct The Kang Dynasty before Marvel shifted gears towards Doctor Doom.
According to Variety, Spider-Man 4 is currently a priority for Marvel Studios, so to be honest it sounds like you'll have to wait even longer for both Shang-Chi 2 and the live-action Naruto film if Kevin Feige gets his way.
It was always pretty clear that Holland was going to be involved in Spider-Man 4, given that he is Spider-Man, but Deadline has reported that both he and Zendaya are currently also talking with execs and producers, with new deals likely to be on the way for them soon.
Spider-Man 4 would obviously be a heavy hitter for both Marvel Studios and Sony, with the third film No Way Home having raked in almost $2 billion at the box office (it's the seventh highest-grossing film of all time, by the way). A fourth film might not do quite as well, but with the rough few years the MCU has been having, Marvel kind of needs to have a swing and not a miss.