Spider-Man: War of the Multiverse
| Spider-Man: War of the Multiverse | |
|---|---|
| File:Spider-Man War of the Multiverse poster.png Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Ava Sinclair |
| Written by | |
| Based on | |
| Produced by | |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Mauro Fiore |
| Edited by |
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| Music by | Michael Giacchino |
Production companies |
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| Distributed by | Sony Pictures Releasing |
Release date |
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Running time | 148 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $225 million |
| Box office | $1.20 billion |
Spider-Man: War of the Multiverse is a 2025 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character Spider-Man, co-produced by Columbia Pictures and Marvel Studios, and distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing. It is a sequel to Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019), and Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021). The film was directed by Ava Sinclair and written by Nathaniel J. Marlowe and Freddie Goodwin. It stars Tom Holland as Peter Parker / Spider-Man alongside Zendaya, Jon Favreau, Willem Dafoe, Benedict Cumberbatch, Andrew Garfield, and Tobey Maguire. In the film, Parker travels to the other worlds to recruit the other Spider-Men to fight a dangerous threat that comes from the aftermath of the events of No Way Home.
Sony was developing a fourth MCU Spider-Man film by August 2019 alongside Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021). Producer Amy Pascal revealed in November 2021 that the film was intended to be the first in a new trilogy of Spider-Man films with Holland, with Sony and Marvel Studios actively beginning work on the story in December. McKenna and Sommers returned as writers from the prior films by February 2023. Filming is expected to begin in 2025.
Spider-Man: War of the Multiverse premiered at the Fox Village Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles on December 15, 2025, and was theatrically released in the United States on December 22, 2025. The film received mixed reviews from critics who praised the performances, plot, and musical score. Though critised the length, plot, and lack of originality between No Way Home (2021). The film grossed $1.2 billion worlwide, coming short of its predecessor. It became one of the highest-grossing films of 2025. The film received a nomination for Best Visual Effects at the 98th Academy Awards, among numerous other accolades. A sequel is in development.
Cast[edit | edit source]
- Tom Holland as Peter Parker / Spider-Man: A teenager and Avenger who received spider-like abilities after being bitten by a radioactive spider. The film explores the fallout of Spider-Man: Far From Home's (2019) mid-credits scene, in which Parker's identity as Spider-Man is exposed, and Parker is more pessimistic in contrast to previous Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) films. Holland said Parker feels defeated and insecure and was excited to explore the darker side of the character. The adjustment back to portraying Parker, including raising his voice pitch and returning to the mindset of a "naïve, charming teenager", was strange for Holland after taking on more mature roles such as in Cherry (2021).
- Zendaya as Michelle "MJ" Jones-Watson: Parker's classmate and girlfriend. The character's full name is revealed in the film, having previously just been known as Michelle Jones, bringing her closer to the comics counterpart Mary Jane Watson.
- Benedict Cumberbatch as Dr. Stephen Strange: A neurosurgeon who became a Master of the Mystic Arts following a career-ending car accident. Holland felt Strange was not a mentor to Parker, unlike Robert Downey Jr.'s Tony Stark in Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), but instead saw them as colleagues and noted their relationship breaks down throughout the course of the film. Cumberbatch felt there was a close relationship between Strange and Parker because both are neighborhood superheroes with a shared history. Co-writer Chris McKenna described Strange as the voice of reason in the film.
- Jacob Batalon as Ned Leeds: Parker's best friend. Batalon lost 102 pounds (46 kg) for his role in this film.
- Jon Favreau as Happy Hogan: The head of security for Stark Industries and former driver and bodyguard of Tony Stark, who looks after Parker.
- Jamie Foxx as Max Dillon / Electro: An Oscorp electrical engineer from an alternate reality who gained electric powers after an accident involving genetically modified electric eels. Foxx reprises his role from Marc Webb's The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014). The character was redesigned for No Way Home, foregoing his original blue Ultimate Marvel-based design in favor of a yellow one more similar to his mainstream comic book appearance.
- Willem Dafoe as Norman Osborn / Green Goblin: A scientist and the CEO of Oscorp from an alternate reality who tested an unstable strength enhancer on himself. He developed an insane split personality as a result and uses advanced Oscorp armor and equipment. Dafoe reprises his role from Sam Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy. Dafoe felt Green Goblin had advanced from his portrayal in Spider-Man (2002) and had "a few more tricks up [his] sleeves" in this film. Dafoe was digitally de-aged for the role, and the character also obtains upgrades to his costume to make him more closely resemble his comic book counterpart.
- Alfred Molina as Otto Octavius / Doctor Octopus: A scientist from an alternate reality with four artificially intelligent mechanical tentacles fused to his body after an accident. Molina reprises his role from Raimi's Spider-Man 2 (2004), with this film continuing from the character's story prior to his death in that film. Molina was surprised by this approach because he had aged in the years since he made that film; digital de-aging was also used to make him look physically the same as in Spider-Man 2. The mechanical tentacles were created completely through CGI, rather than blending them with puppetry as in Spider-Man 2.
- Benedict Wong as Wong: Strange's mentor and friend who became the new Sorcerer Supreme during Strange's absence in the Blip.
- Tony Revolori as Eugene "Flash" Thompson: Parker's classmate and former rival.
- Marisa Tomei as May Parker: Parker's aunt. While developing the story, the writers realized that May would play a role similar to Uncle Ben's role in other incarnations of Spider-Man. As such, the thematic and often-paraphrasingly-quoted idiom "with great power, there must also come great responsibility" is said by May, since she has been the "moral guide" for Parker in the MCU.
- Andrew Garfield as Peter Parker / Spider-Man: An alternate version of Parker who is haunted by his failure to save his deceased girlfriend, Gwen Stacy. Garfield reprises his role from Webb's The Amazing Spider-Man films. The other Spider-Men refer to him as "Peter-Three", while Marvel's official website named him "The Amazing Spider-Man". Garfield embraced his role as the middle brother of the group and was interested in exploring the idea of a tortured Parker following the events of The Amazing Spider-Man 2, including how lessons from those events could be passed to Holland's character. He was grateful for the chance to "tie up some loose ends" for his incarnation of Parker, and described working with Holland and Maguire as an opportunity to have "deeper conversations... about our experiences with the character". Parker ends up saving MJ during the climax in a similar way to how he fails to save Stacy in The Amazing Spider-Man 2; McKenna and co-writer Erik Sommers credited director Jon Watts for coming up with the idea while they watched a pre-visualization reel showcasing ideas for the climactic battle.
- Tobey Maguire as Peter Parker / Spider-Man: An alternate version of Parker who utilizes organic webbing instead of web shooters like his alternate counterparts. Maguire reprises his role from Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy. The other Spider-Men refer to him as "Peter-Two", while Marvel's official website named him the "Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man". Maguire wanted the film to reveal only minimal details about what happened to his character after the events of Spider-Man 3 (2007).
Production[edit | edit source]
Development[edit | edit source]
By August 2019, Sony Pictures was reportedly developing a fourth Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) Spider-Man film alongside the third, Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021). In February 2021, star Tom Holland said No Way Home was the final film under his contract with Sony and Marvel Studios but he hoped to continue playing Peter Parker / Spider-Man in the future if asked. Zendaya, who portrays MJ in the MCU, said in July that she did not know if another MCU Spider-Man film would be made. That October, Holland said No Way Home was being treated as "the end of a franchise" that began with Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), with any additional solo films featuring the MCU Spider-Man characters to be different from the first trilogy of films and feature a tonal change.
In November 2021, Holland said he was unsure if he should continue making Spider-Man films and felt he would have "done something wrong" if he was still portraying the character in his thirties. He expressed interest in a film focusing on the Miles Morales version of Spider-Man instead of Parker. Despite this, producer Amy Pascal hoped to continue working with Holland on future Spider-Man films. Later that month, Pascal said there were plans for another trilogy of Spider-Man films starring Holland, with work on the first of those about to begin, though The Hollywood Reporter reported that Sony did not yet have official plans for further MCU Spider-Man films despite the studio's hopes that their collaboration with Marvel Studios would continue. Holland said there were some "very, very exciting things" that would be discussed for the future Spider-Man films, but did not know what the plans were. He also felt there was an "incredibly bright future ahead" for the franchise. In December, Pascal said she hoped the studios' partnership would last forever, while Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige said Holland's Parker would return in another MCU film "sometime". Feige confirmed that he and Pascal, along with Sony and Disney, were actively beginning to develop the story for the next Spider-Man film following Parker's "momentous decision" in No Way Home, and promised that the partnership between Sony and Disney would not breakdown again as it did during the development of No Way Home. Holland was aware of conversations regarding the future of Spider-Man in the MCU, but was unsure if it would involve him as the star or a producer. He said he had achieved what he wanted with the character at that point and was ready to "say goodbye" to the role but would be saddened to leave.
By April 2022, Sony was expecting series director Jon Watts to return. However, following Watts' exit as director of Marvel Studios' Fantastic Four (2025), Deadline Hollywood noted that the next Spider-Man film and his potential return as director would be "down the road". A month later, Sony Pictures CEO and chairman Tom Rothman confirmed that he hoped the "whole group" from the previous films would return, including Watts, Holland, and Zendaya. Feige said in February 2023 that they had a story for the film with "big ideas" and that writers had begun work on it. Pascal said at the end of May that the film was still in development but that work was put on hold because of the 2023 Writers Guild of America strike that began earlier that month, and that work would resume after the strike concluded. By that time, Holland reiterated that the film was in early stages of development and that he had been involved in meetings about it, which were also put on hold because of the writers' strike. Though Holland was happy with the creative reasons discussed for returning to create a fourth film, he was apprehensive about returning for it given the "stigma" around fourth films in film franchises, and since it felt "like we hit a home run with our first franchise and there's a part of me that wants to walk away with my head held high and pass the baton" to another actor to interpret the character. In November 2023, Holland again noted he was part of discussions surrounding the film and reiterated his desire to return only if it would "do justice to the character". Marvel Studios was prioritizing searching for a director by January 2024, with Watts and Drew Goddard reportedly being considered. Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers were revealed to be the writers, after working on the prior three Spider-Man films, while Holland and Zendaya were both expected to return. Filming was expected to begin in 2025.
Filming[edit | edit source]
Principal photography began in 2024.
Release[edit | edit source]
In April 2021, Sony signed deals with Netflix and Disney for the rights to their 2022 to 2026 film slate, following the films' theatrical and home media windows. Netflix signed for exclusive "pay 1 window" streaming rights, which is typically an 18-month window and included future Spider-Man films following Spider-Man: No Way Home. Disney signed for "pay 2 window" rights for the films, which would be streamed on Disney+ and Hulu as well as broadcast on Disney's linear television networks. In 2024, it was announced that the film would be released in 2025.
The film was released on December 22, 2025.