Iron Man Won't Be Back For The Spider-Man Sequel

It looks like Marvel's friendly neighborhood Spider-Man is going to have a string of mentors in his future.

For the upcoming Spider-Man: Homecoming, that role is being played by none other than Tony Stark, aka Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.). But, according to The Hollywood Reporter, the film's sequel will have a different Marvel hero stepping up to take his place.

"Sony will get a to-be-determined Marvel character for Spider-Man 2 like it received for Homecoming with the box-office monster Iron Man, played by Robert Downey Jr," THR reports. "But sources say it won't be Iron Man next time around."

Fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe saw the beginning of the Iron Man-Spidey matchup during Captain America: Civil War, where Stark enlisted the budding web-slinger to his ranks in the battle over the Sokovia Accords. Anyone keeping up with Spider-Man: Homecoming's trailers will also see that Iron Man is teaching his pupil the ropes of being an Avenger, though the would-be hero seems to reach for bigger and better things.

According to Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige, the new Spider-Man film places the character where he belongs: with his Marvel brethren. After being under Iron Man's tutelage for his debut film, the new Spider-Man enlists a different hero for his second standalone film.

"Suddenly this goes from being a third reincarnation and a sixth movie to a first," Feige told THR. "It's the first time Spider-Man gets to interact with the world in which he belongs."

While there are no details on exactly which one that would be, having the entire gamut of Avengers, Guardians of the Galaxy, Dr. Strange, Black Panther, and Ant-Man (okay, maybe not Ant-Man) at his web-shooting fingertips allows for plenty of qualified tutors. Plus, Spider-Man will be in the upcoming Avengers: Infinity War, where he could click with just about anyone in the Marvel universe, so there's really no character that's off-limits.

The AV Club adds that throwing Dr. Strange into the mix could allow Marvel to incorporate a few of the mystical characters present in the Spider-Man comics — and fans know how much Marvel loves intertwining universes in its films.