A new addition to the Marvel Cinematic Universe is on the horizon, so naturally the rumor mill is buzzing. Avengers: Doomsday, is set to hit theaters December 2026, and even with the shocking casting of Robert Downey Jr. as the villainous Doctor Doom, one question is still on everyone’s minds: What’s the deal with Spider-Man? 

Earlier this year, Marvel broke the internet with a livestream that slowly revealed the cast of Avengers: Doomsday by having the names of the cast appear on the back of director’s chairs…over the course of five and a half hours. Fans were pleasantly surprised to see newer additions to the MCU (Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby), alongside MCU staples (Chris Hemsworth, Anthony Mackie), as well as the left-field inclusion of Marvel veterans from the pre-MCU years (James Marsden, Alan Cumming). Despite the overwhelming excitement of potentially seeing characters from multiple eras of superhero movies share the same screen, fans noticed one GLARING omission: Tom Holland’s Spider-Man was absent from the casting announcement. It certainly couldn’t have been an oversight, this is SPIDER-MAN, we’re talking about, arguably Marvel’s most popular character.

Well now we’re several months out from the announcement and theories are circulating as to how the web-slinger could still be included. First off, producer and MCU–architect Kevin Feige revealed that the Doomsday announcement would feature some, not all, actors appearing in the movie, meaning there’s still a chance. 

If this is the case, it’s not the first time Marvel played some tricks on us to avoid spoilers. Andrew Garfield and Tobey Maguire were notoriously absent from any Spider-Man: No Way Home trailers and press tours. Marvel has also been known to include fake footage in trailers that never appeared in the final movies. Remember that just because information isn’t provided, doesn’t mean it’s a definitive "no" with Marvel.

Another thing fans have noticed is the filming schedules of both movies. Doomsday was initially set to be released in May 2026, but pushed out seven months to December 2026. No official explanation has been given, but numerous factors could be at play such as the 2023 Writer’s Strike, inevitable scheduling conflicts of 20+ Hollywood actors and actresses, or even VFX artists needing enough time to craft the over-the-top action sequences.

 It could be either one of those reasons…OR the fact that Holland has been busy filming Brand New Day as well as Christopher Nolan’s version of the timeless epic, The Odyssey also set to release next summer. A delay in production for Doomsday would be the perfect opportunity to squeeze in scenes with Holland during his busy schedule. Again, this is all speculation at this point.

Then once you look at things from a story perspective, the movie is almost begging for Spider-Man to be included. As many of us know, Peter Parker (Tom Holland) and Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) developed a strong mentor/mentee relationship with one another in the events leading up to Endgame, where Tony sacrificed himself to save the world from Thanos.

Tony was the surrogate father figure in Peter’s life and this was made even more apparent in the aftermath of Tony’s death. Casting the same actor who played one of the main heroes in the MCU as a villain, is certainly a choice. How will the heroes who knew Tony react to seeing his face on a villain? How will Peter specifically react to this? It begs too large of a question to just leave Spidey out. 

Then again it could all be answered in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, the fourth MCU Spider-Man movie in production right now, set to be released next Summer. Despite what happens in these two upcoming movies in 2026, we’re still rumored to get Spider-Man in more of a leading role the following year in Avengers: Secret Wars set to hit theaters in 2027.

Perhaps Peter will get lost in an alternate reality in Brand New Day and be out of pocket during Doomsday? Maybe Doomsday will still have “Spider-Man” but played by another character? *cough* Give us live action Miles Morales *cough* Since Marvel loves to play with the multiverse especially with Spider-Man, e.g. the Spider-Verse movies, the possibilities are truly endless at this point.

We’ll just have to wait and see what happens to our favorite wall crawler, but one thing is certain...Marvel fans will be eating well for the next few years. 

Photo Credit: @tomholland2013 on Instagram.