Madame Web Teases A Strange Spider-Man Reboot ... Maybe? Kind Of? Sort Of?
This article contains spoilers for "Madame Web."
While Miles Morales is thriving with an Oscar-winning film and an Oscar-nominated sequel, Peter Parker's future in film is uncertain. After the end of Tom Holland's trilogy, the partnership between Marvel and Sony has been nebulous. Sure, there was that "Morbius" post-credits scene, but things have been very quiet when it comes to the future of Tom Holland as Peter Parker.
It doesn't help that, in the time since "No Way Home," Sony has been making moves in their own universe, from the upcoming "Kraven the Hunter," hopes of another go at "Sinister Six," and even a live-action Miles Morales movie. All of this indicates that Sony wants a big spidey-future that does not depend on Marvel Studios. This includes "Madame Web," the latest movie that seems like it should involve Spider-Man, yet doesn't. The movie focuses on a different spider-powered hero with the very spider-like ability to see the future — you know, just like spiders do. In "Madame Web," Cassie Web has to protect three teenage girls — who will one day get spider powers of their own — from a sadistic supervillain. It's like something out of "Gotham," except not nearly as fun, and we don't even see a young Peter Parker here, or do we?
Though unseen, Peter Parker is actually a big part of the film. This poses the question, is "Madame Web" secretly a Spider-Man reboot prequel? Well, kind of.
How Peter Parker ties into Madame Web
From the moment the first "Madame Web" trailer was released, fans were quick to speculate that Adam Scott's character, a paramedic working alongside Dakota Johnson's Cassie, was actually Ben Parker — you know, Uncle Ben "With great power there comes great responsibility" Parker. His appearance could have simply been a cute nod, an acknowledgment of this being some alternate reality where there is no Peter Parker, and Cassie is that reality's main spider-person.
But "Madame Web" does not stop there. Instead, the film keeps Peter Parker's presence at arm's length. We meet Ben's pregnant sister, Mary, played by Emma Roberts. Another coincidence, you might say, except for the fact that the movie stops right before anyone mentions the baby's name several times throughout the film like it was Voldemort.
Does the fact that "Madame Web" takes the time to include a subplot where Mary gives birth to her baby imply a future for Peter Parker in this franchise? And more importantly, is this meant to be Tom Holland's Peter Parker or the start of a reboot?
The future of Peter Parker
Now, here's where things get interesting. "Madame Web" may feature both Ben and Mary Parker, but it never shows or even name-drops Peter or May Parker. A simple reason for this could be that Sony just doesn't want to mix up the canon or taint their most valuable character by tossing him into every movie.
But what if there's more to it? Maybe this is a way for the Sony Spider-Man universe to leave the door open for Holland to return once they figure out the post-Marvel future of the character. After all, both Ben and Mary Parker are famously dead by the time Peter becomes Spider-Man in the Marvel movies. Given the prevalence of the multiverse in the superhero movie landscape right now, the upcoming reboot-friendly "Secret Wars," and also the whole "Spider-Verse" of it all, it could be relatively easy to retcon Holland's Peter Parker out of the MCU and into Sony's own universe via "Madame Web" without having to do a whole origin story again.
And it doesn't even have to be Tom Holland playing Peter Parker. As baby-face as he is, Holland isn't getting any younger, while the 2003 setting of "Madame Web" makes it clear this is a Gen Z Spider-Man. If "Madame Web" somehow gets an unlikely sequel, Sony could easily recast and reboot the story within their own non-MCU continuity.
Of course, there's also the small chance Mary Parker did not give birth to Peter Parker in "Madame Web," but another entirely different character who could still become Spider-Man down the line. Maybe this is how we get Ben Reilly into the live-action movies. Does any of this matter? Is there any chance we see any of these characters again? Probably not, but stranger things have happened.