Content Warning: This article contains story SPOILERS for Spider-Man: No Way Home.

After the crowd-pleasing and financial success of Spider-Man: No Way Home, director Jon Watts has proven to be a stellar filmmaker in the MCU. Having directed the entire Tom Holland Spider-Man trilogy, Jon Watts is now slated to direct the MCU reboot of the Fantastic Four.

Swapping franchises, it can be assumed that Watts will be too busy to direct the new Spider-Man trilogy. Many fans wonder who could possibly take the reins from Watts, especially since there are many talented filmmakers out there. Who are the best available options to take a shot at this friendly neighborhood superhero’s story?

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Jon Favreau

Happy Hogan has been a delightful supporting role across the Jon Watts trilogy, with Jon Favreau delivering a charming performance just as he did in the Iron Man trilogy. And it’s easy to forget that Jon Favreau helped found the MCU, having directed both Iron Man and Iron Man 2.

Favreau has also been excelling with his work on The Mandalorian and The Book Of Boba Fett for Disney+. With his dedication to the fans and advancement in filmmaking technology, he could bring that same level of quality of those shows to Spider-Man combined with his filmmaking knowledge from Iron Man.

Joseph Kosinski

One of the more underappreciated directors working today, Joseph Kosinski’s first film was none other than Tron: Legacy, one of Disney’s cult classics that didn’t deserve to flop. Kosinski would move on to direct Oblivion, a sleeper hit from 2013 starring Tom Cruise, 2017’s Only The Brave, and he is now reuniting with Tom Cruise for Top Gun: Maverick.

From his filmography alone, it’s easy to see that Joseph Kosinski is a rather diverse director who never sticks to one genre or style. He’s most famous for his attention to detail with visuals, hence why films like Tron: Legacy and Oblivion excel at their special effects and CGI backgrounds. Imagine what he could bring to the world of Spider-Man and his villains.

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Chloe Zhao

Fresh off of her Oscar-winning Nomadland and her unique stamp in the MCU with Eternals, Chloe Zhao has proven to be a talented director. From her grand scope to fleshing out characters while still providing plenty of thrills, Chloe would be perfect for Spider-Man as he struggles with adulthood in New York City.

Not only that, Eternals proved that she was capable of tackling a lot of characters at once. If the new trilogy introduces The Sinister Six, Miles Morales AKA Ultimate Spider-Man, or other famous Spider-Man characters, Chloe Zhao seems more than capable of balancing them out and developing them in a healthy manner.

Ava DuVernay

Ava DuVernay has demonstrated her ability to tackle all sorts of genres, so perhaps Marvel could give her a shot, especially after her success with Selma and Netflix’s When They See Us. Currently, she is working with superheroes by bringing DC’s Naomi to the CW.

Ava herself has proven to be a fan, openly admitting to seeing Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse six times in theaters and even doing her own interview with the director. This could lead to her being the perfect person to introduce Miles Morales and go on to direct a spin-off movie with the character.

Leigh Whannell

With both Upgrade and The Invisible Man, Leigh Whannell has surprised many viewers with his dynamic camera work. The fast, smooth, and tracking movements of the camera during action sequences would be perfect to show Spider-Man in hand-to-hand combat, especially with his Spider-Sense.

He seems to be a horror filmmaker at heart, and with his choice of Spider-Man villains, he could add to the plethora of terrifying Spider-Man movie moments. Speaking of villains, Whannell has handled multiple strange concepts that would make him perfect to handle weirder Spider-Man villains such as The Spot or Spider-Slayer.

Gareth Edwards

Gareth Edwards is no stranger to cinematic universes, he was the one that started the MonsterVerse with 2014’s Godzilla and expanded the Star Wars canon with 2016’s Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. Both are perfect examples of Edwards’ talents, putting humans in massive battles with heart-stopping visuals that show off size and spectacle.

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Considering that most of Spider-Man’s villains are larger than life, he seems perfect to make Spider-Man battling for New York City rival that of the Avengers battling for New York City. Rogue One also shows off Edwards’ ability to work with a group of talented actors portraying now-iconic characters.

Phil Abraham

Thanks to Spider-Man: No Way Home and Hawkeye, Daredevil and the Kingpin have made their MCU debuts, and it would be foolish not to take advantage of it. There is no better way than by having Daredevil team up with Spider-Man at one point to fight the Kingpin, given that the two heroes both deal with the villain in the comics.

And, who better to bring back for such as crossover than the director of multiple episodes of Netflix’s Daredevil and The Defenders. Phil Abraham brought fans the now-famous hallway fight scene all done in one take. On a much bigger scale, Abraham could make a similar Spider-Man and Daredevil team-up just as iconic as that fight.

Chad Stahelski

It’s obviously easier to do Spider-Man’s stunts with CGI, but someone like Chad Stahelski could bring Spider-Man down to a more grounded level, showing how fierce he can be up close. Stahelski has become a master of close-range battles with his work across the John Wick series.

Spider-Man has plenty of villains that would be perfect for the director’s style, from Kraven The Hunter to Tombstone to perhaps the return of the Shocker. Stahelski also always displays a talent for showing off the city in colorful and dynamic ways, which would be perfect for Spider-Man’s home turf.

Rhys Thomas

Similar to Phil Abraham, Rhys Thomas has recently provided fans with entertainment in a Marvel series. Thomas directed multiple episodes of Hawkeye, including the action-packed finale that felt straight out of a Matt Fraction Hawkeye comic.

Thomas helped introduce Wilson Fisk AKA Kingpin into the MCU, so it would make sense for him to bring Vincent D’Onofrio’s now-iconic Kingpin portrayal into the films to fight Spider-Man. Hawkeye also embraced some of the wackier aspects of New York City, such as the Tracksuit Mafia whom Spider-Man could have endless fun mocking.

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Matthew Vaughn

It would be easy to think that perhaps Matthew Vaughn is too R-rated for Spider-Man, but he has actually proven he can handle a comic book movie about young adults twice. First was with X-Men: First Class, which many argue is one of the best of the F0x X-Men films, and the other being Kingsman: The Secret Service.

Both focus on troubled young adults learning responsibility and growing up as they deal with an over-the-top villain plot. That is perfect for Spider-Man, and considering Fox unfairly abandoned Vaughn after one movie, perhaps the MCU can treat him better by letting him handle a trilogy of Spider-Man movies.

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About The Author


Melody MacReady
(426 Articles Published)

Melody MacReady is a writer and transwoman (she/her), passionate about all things pop culture-related. From movies to shows to games to comic books, there is not much that she does not enjoy or appreciate. Melody is also an aspiring film writer and director as well as a voice actor as a hobby. This spark for content creation came from her childhood, growing up with media of all kinds which inspired her to write short stories, write comics, and begin writing about them on the internet. Melody’s biggest inspiration came from first seeing Zack Snyder’s Watchmen in 2009; the film combined with her knowledge of how scenes were done via behind-the-scenes featurettes prior to the film’s release made her fall in love with filmmaking. Not only does she write for ScreenRant, The Gamer, Comic Book Resources, and GameRant but she runs her own personal blog, discussing many things pop culture-related.

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