Gwen Stacy is entering the Marvel Studios airspace in 2026 for the first time ever. Mary Jane Watson, better known as M.J., may be Peter Parker’s most famous love interest, but Gwen Stacy was his first serious girlfriend in Marvel Comics. The character shot into the public eye with 2012’s The Amazing Spider-Man and its 2014 sequel where she was played by Oscar-winner Emma Stone, while Bryce Dallas Howard also brought a version of her to life in 2008’s Spider-Man 3. More recently, Stacy got a new lease of life in Sony’s Spider-Verse franchise, where she became a love interest to Miles Morales and a full-blown superhero from across the Multiverse, going by Spider-Woman, aka Spider-Gwen.
Up until now, Marvel Studios has never introduced its own Gwen Stacy, with Tom Holland’s Peter Parker yet to meet his iconic blonde beauty. However, Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man showrunner Jeff Trammell previously confirmed that the Disney+ series will debut Gwen Stacy in Season 2.
It seems Gwen will be more than just a fellow Midtown High School student in Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, as Trammell also unveiled Spider-Gwen’s superhero costume for the 2026 sophomore season.
The web-slinger will need all the help he can get when the animated tale returns for Season 2 on Disney+ this fall, as the first trailer already revealed five villains coming up next on Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man. Granted, she won’t be his only superhero help, as Charlie Cox will also return as Daredevil in Season 2.
This may seem early for Gwen to get her own super-powered evolution given that she was absent from last year’s first season, but her spider-bite was secretly teased as early as Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man‘s premiere episode.
When the radioactive spider arrived through a portal in the sky, it first bit Peter during his first meeting with his best friend-to-be, Runaways hero Nico Minoru.
After leaving its mark on Peter Parker’s life, Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man hinted that he might not be the last to be better by the radioactive arachnid.
The spider crawled its way onto another Midtown High School student’s backpack and was carried away, setting it up to bite another, likely Gwen Stacy.
The Disney+ series is yet to give Peter a true love interest, despite showcasing his obvious infatuation with Pearl Pangan, the now-ex-girlfriend to Lonnie Lincoln, aka Tombstone. Fans will see three versions of Tombstone across this year, including in Spider-Man: Brand New Day and Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man.
As Peter seems to be just platonic friends with Nico Minoru (who ended Season 1 with a crazy magical twist), he may strike up a romance with Gwen that also brings them together on the streets to fight crime and take on multiple threats.
One has to wonder if Gwen has already been active in her own web-slinging suit between seasons, or if Peter will offer her some guidance in Season 2 and possibly gift her own set of web-shooters to aid in her super heroics.
Is Tom Holland’s Spider-Man Getting His Own Gwen Stacy Next?
Interestingly, scooper Daniel Richtman recently reported that Peter Parker has a “blonde” neighbor in Spider-Man: Brand New Day. Many have speculated that neighbor may be Gwen Stacy, who could be M.J.’s roommate after the movie’s first trailer hinted that she and Peter are living across the hall from each other.
A rumor shared by scooper @Majestic_ucm (via Comic Book Movie) claimed that Twisters star Kiernan Shipka will play Gwen Stacy in Spider-Man 4, following in the footsteps of Emma Stone and Bryce Dallas Howard. It must be noted that these rumors remain unverified and shouldn’t be taken as fact at all for the time being.
Thanks to No Way Home‘s mind-wipe ending, Peter and M.J. after, of course, not together in Brand New Day, and she even has a universally-hated new boyfriend. There may be no better time for the MCU superhero to enjoy a new relationship with Gwen, before perhaps one day circling back to M.J.
However, Sony may not be eager to place Peter and Gwen together in the MCU, given that her romance with the animated Miles Morales will come to a head next year in Beyond the Spider-Verse. If that is the case, Holland may not get his own Gwen anytime soon, especially if he quickly circles back to M.J. this summer.
Gwen’s most famous classic storyline comes through her tragic death as the hands of Green Goblin that became a defining moment in Spider-Man history. Modern iterations have often leant away Gwen’s infamous purpose in Spider-Man lore, instead more heavily spotlighting the heroic Spider-Gwen take.
The MCU could truly go in either direction, either opting for classic comic accuracy or capitalizing on her trend newer alter ego. Marvel Studios has often crafted its own path forward, which could work for Gwen, merging the two by having her become a web-slinger who meets a bitter end, which could equally work in Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man Season 2 later this year.
