Spider-Man 4 finally swings into action, as Marvel enters "early talks" with the director of one of the MCU's best recent movies

After months of silence, Spider-Man 4 might finally have a director to replace Jon Watts.

As per Deadline, Destin Daniel Cretton is reportedly in "early talks" to direct Spider-Man 4.

According to the outlet, Cretton – who has already worked extensively with Marvel on Shang-Chi and the upcoming Wonder Man series – is the "top choice" to helm the Sony/Marvel project.

While stars Tom Holland and Zendaya aren't yet locked in, new deals will "likely be underway soon."

Previously, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige updated fans on the status of Spider-Man 4 back in February. "All I will say is that we have the story," Feige told Entertainment Weekly. "We have big ideas for that, and our writers are just putting pen to paper now."

Since then, the script has seemingly moved along enough to a point where Cretton could be brought aboard. With Watts stepping aside (and now directing Wolfs, starring George Clooney and Brad Pitt), the Shang-Chi director's past history of hard-hitting action should stand him in good stead for taking on the wallcrawler's latest adventure.

What that means for Shang-Chi 2 and Cretton's live-action Naruto movie is unclear. Even Spider-Man 4 has a degree of uncertainty surrounding it. Andrew Garfield has already had to shoot down rumors that he will appear in the movie, while the Spider-Man: No Way Home ending – seemingly a soft reboot for Tom Holland's Spidey – may be quickly undone by the inclusion of Zendaya. 

No release date for Spider-Man 4 has yet been given. For more on the MCU, check out our guide to upcoming Marvel movies. Then dive into the past with a look at how to watch the Marvel movies in order.