Although Tony Stark/Iron Man will feature prominently in the upcoming Spider-Man: Homecoming, the first official Spidey entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it doesn’t look like Robert Downey Jr. will return for the sequel. According to a story in the The Hollywood Reporter, Sony will have the Peter Parker team up with a different, as yet to be determined hero from the MCU in the follow-up film, which is currently set for release on July 5, 2019.

This is assuming everyone responds to Tom Holland’s take on Spidey over the previous Andrew Garfield version, of course. Remember, those movies had sequels and spin-offs with release dates too, until Amazing Spider-Man 2 came out and those plans went the way of the dinosaur.

But assuming everything goes according to plan for both Marvel Studios and Sony and Spider-Man: Homecoming is a hit, who will be the next MCU hero to appear swinging alongside Peter? If I were a betting man, my money would be on Mark Ruffalo as the Hulk. After all, he’s a Marvel Comics icon that everyone and their mother knows, and because of contracts and other things, Marvel is reluctant to give him his own headlining movie again. But he’s being brought in as back-up in the upcoming Thor: Ragnarok, so we could see the same scenario taking place for a Spidey sequel.

A quippy, sarcastic Spider-Man dodging blows from the Jade Giant (who’s annoyed beyond all measure at “Bug-Man”) is a longtime staple of Marvel Comics, and would be a blast to see play out on screen. Plus, in their real-world identities, both Peter Parker and Bruce Banner are huge science nerds, so they’d have that bond going for them as well.

Our next guess for which MCU hero might make an appearance in a Spider-Man: Homecoming sequel would be Chris Evans as Steve Rogers/Captain America. Ever since Captain America: Civil War, when Spidey first fought Cap and the two shared a mutual respect for each other, fans have wanted to see more of their interaction. Plus, there’s the age gap between the two. Despite what he may look like, Steve Rogers is an old man from “the greatest generation,” while Peter is very much a product of the modern world. This is another pairing that could lead to a lot of memorable scenes.

The Hollywood Reporter story also dropped another interesting bit of information over Sony’s plans for a Spidey universe featuring his supporting characters and villains in movies of their own. Venom, along with Black Cat & Silver Sable, make a certain amount of sense, given that these characters have headlined their own comics in the past and are as much anti-heroes as they are villains. But according to the new report, it looks like Sony is looking to develop spin-offs for….Mysterio and Kraven the Hunter??

Now, it’s possible that THR got their wires crossed, and instead heard that Kraven and Mysterio are being looked at as villains for the Spider-Man: Homecoming sequel, which would make a lot more sense than those guys getting their own movies. These characters are and have always been straight up villains, and trying to portray them as good guys or protagonists in any way would come off as phony. Here’s hoping that future appearances in Spidey sequels is what is actually going to be happening, rather than a Mysterio or Kraven solo movie, because I’m not sure who wants to line up to see that.

What Marvel heroes would you like to see Spidey team up with on the big screen? Do I hear a Daredevil in there somewhere?? Let us know what you think down below in the comments.

Images: Marvel Comics / Sony