Spider-Man 4 Theory Claims All Peter Parkers Are Dead… Except Three

Spider-Man will return in a fourth movie after the life-changing events of Spider-Man: No Way Home, and while plot details about Spider-Man 4 are a mystery, there are many theories on what’s next for Tom Holland’s Peter Parker, and one of those claims that all his variants are dead, except for Peter-Two (Tobey Maguire) and Peter-Three (Andrew Garfield). The Marvel Cinematic Universe is exploring the dangers of its multiverse in its Multiverse Saga, and Spider-Man: No Way Home was key in this due to the multiverse chaos Spider-Man and Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) accidentally unleashed.

After Mysterio (Jake Gyllenhaal) revealed Spider-Man’s identity to the whole world at the end of Spider-Man: Far From Home, No Way Home saw Peter trying to deal with the consequences of it. Peter asked Strange to cast a spell that would make everyone forget he’s Spider-Man, but the spell was botched, and they opened the gates to the multiverse. This allowed villains from past Spider-Man movies to cross over into the MCU, as well as two variants of Peter, who Peter referred to as Peter-Two (Tobey Maguire) and Peter-Three (Andrew Garfield). At the end of No Way Home, the only solution to fix this multiverse chaos was to cast a spell that would make everyone forget Peter Parker, and so he was left completely alone.

A fourth Spider-Man movie as part of the MCU and Sony’s Spider-Man Universe is confirmed to be in development, but details about its story and where it will take Peter Parker are unknown – but the appearance of Peter’s two variants, along with the multiverse itself, have made way for a variety of theories on what will happen in Spider-Man 4, and one of those claims all Spider-Man variants have been killed (except three) by villain Morlun.

Who Is Morlun? Marvel Comics Villain Explained

Created by J. Michael Straczynski and John Romita Jr., Morlun is a psychic vampire who made his first appearance in The Amazing Spider-Man vol. 2 #30, in 2001. When Spider-Man met Ezekiel, a fellow superpowered being, he explained to Peter that the spider that bit him did so so it could pass its abilities onto Peter before dying, thus making Spider-Man a “totem”, which is a bridge between man and the beast but with the properties of both. As a totem, Spider-Man was in danger from those who wanted the destruction of totems, among those Morlun. His backstory is mostly unknown, but according to Ezekiel, as long as totemistic forces have walked the planet, there have been beings who feed on them, just like Morlun and his people, known as the Inheritors. Morlun has the power to absorb life force energy, possesses superhuman strength, speed, stamina, durability, agility, and reflexes, along with immortality and the ability to fly. Although they can subsist on the life forces of other, non-totemistic beings, they crave pure hosts, and Spider-Man is a perfect candidate.

In the Spider-Verse storyline, Morlun and the Inheritors tried to kill all versions of Spider-Man, and they succeeded as they killed several. Spider-UK witnessed some of the murders of his variants and set out through the web of life in order to save the remaining Spider-Men. In the end, the Spider-Men managed to overpower the Inheritors and stopped the ritual to end them all, and Morlun and his clan were trapped on Earth-3145, where they fed off mutated spiders, the only surviving life-forms in that world.

Theory: Morlun Killed All Spider-Man Variants, Except Three

Andrew Garfield holds Tobey up and says goodbye to 616 Peter

The inclusion of the multiverse in the MCU, along with the confirmation of Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy and Marc Webb’s The Amazing Spider-Man movies being part of it and the arrival of Maguire and Garfield’s versions of Peter Parker to the MCU, have made way for different theories and possibilities on where Spider-Man 4 will take Holland’s Spider-Man and, possibly, the other Peter Parkers, too. Before Spider-Man: No Way Home came out, there were many rumors about which characters would appear alongside the villains from other Spider-Man movies, including some that suggested this would be the movie that introduced Miles Morales and even Spider-Gwen. In the end, the only Spider-Man variants that showed up were Maguire and Garfield’s, which raised questions about the rest of the variants in the multiverse.

This made way for a Spider-Man 4 theory that suggests the villain will be Morlun and he and his Inheritors have already killed most of Spider-Man’s variants in the MCU, except Holland, Maguire, and Garfield. The theory can be supported by how in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, America Chavez (Xochitl Gomez) didn’t know who Spider-Man is, even though she has traveled to 73 universes, meaning there are no Spider-Man variants in, at least, 73 universes in the MCU. Although there hasn’t been a proper setup for Morlun’s arrival, his introduction to the MCU is now more possible thanks to the Multiverse Saga exploring its supernatural side with the TV series Moon Knight and Werewolf by Night, and the upcoming movie Blade, so a psychic vampire like Morlun can definitely have a place now in the MCU.

Could Tobey Maguire & Andrew Garfield Return in Spider-Man 4?

Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield In No Way Home

Supposing Morlun is the next big villain in the MCU/Sony’s Spider-Man saga, the big question now is if Spider-Man 4 will see the three remaining Spider-Men team up once more. If they are the only Spider-Men in the MCU that Morlun hasn’t killed, it would make sense to bring Maguire and Garfield back to help Holland defeat this dangerous villain, though that could also lead to one of them not making it past Spider-Man 4. However, Morlun as the villain, hunting Spider-Man variants, could also work just with Holland’s Spider-Man, who would take on the mission of saving his two other variants by possibly trapping Morlun in his universe in order to defeat him. The events and ending of Spider-Man: No Way Home opened many doors for Peter Parker’s future, but it’s to be seen where the MCU will take him now.