Sony's Spider-Verse Should Adapt Death Of Spider-Man (With Maguire)
Sony's Spider-Verse should adapt Death of Spider-Man with Tobey Maguire to give him a proper send-off and set up Spider-Man's movie future.
Sony's Spider-Verse should adapt Marvel's Death of Spider-Man storyline with Tobey Maguire to give him a proper send-off and set up the future. Sony has been making Spider-Man movies for the last two decades, but after doing three different solo franchises, they are in the midst of launching a cinematic universe. These plans began to take shape after Venom's incredible box office performance in 2018 and will see Sony make their own Marvel movies, in addition to continuing a partnership with Marvel Studios to keep Tom Holland's Spider-Man in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Sony has smartly refrained from announcing a multi-year plan. As it stands right now, Morbius and Venom: Let There Be Carnage are the only Spider-Verse movies with confirmed release dates. Spider-Man: Homecoming 3 is also slated to be released in theaters in December 2021. Sony is developing a handful of other projects, including solo films for Kraven the Hunter, Spider-Woman, and Madame Web - just to name a few. While Sony has yet to clarify how these movies connect to the current or past Spider-Man franchises, the studio does appear to be heading down a similar track as other superhero franchises to embrace the multiverse.
The teases of Sony tying their various properties together started in Spider-Man: Far From Home when J.K. Simmons appeared as J. Jonah Jameson. Although this version of the character is new to the MCU, using Simmons again theoretically can connect Tom Holland's Spider-Man to Tobey Maguire's, as Simmons originally played Jameson in Maguire's Spider-Man trilogy. More recently, a trailer for Morbius used Michael Keaton's Vulture, which further blurred the lines between Sony's new movies and the MCU. These teases could potentially pay off with Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield each playing Spider-Man again. If Maguire is returning in some capacity, Sony should look at adapting Death of Spider-Man with him.
Tobey Maguire's days of playing Spider-Man were thought to be over, but it has been heavily rumored that he'll suit up again in Spider-Man: Homecoming 3. Sony and Marvel Studios appear to be diving deep into the multiverse with the film and reportedly are bringing back multiple actors/characters from past Spider-Man movies. Maguire's return has yet to be officially confirmed, and Holland has even protected the spoilers by denying his appearance in the past. But, Maguire's Spider-Man co-stars like Alfred Molina, Willem Dafoe, Thomas Hayden Church, and Kirsten Dunst have all been linked to returning too.
If Maguire does appear in Spider-Man: Homecoming 3 as expected, it is unclear how prominent of a role he will play. His Spider-Man could only be seen briefly as Doctor Strange explains the multiverse to Holland's Peter Parker or they could join forces in the finale. No matter how big or small of a role Maguire has, there will be many viewers who want to see more from him. Most of the speculation has turned to the possibility of Holland, Maguire, and Garfield teaming up in a live-action Spider-Verse film, but Sony has other options too. Maguire's potential interest in playing the Marvel hero again should come with the chance to receive a proper send-off. This is where Death of Spider-Man could come into play.
The Death of Spider-Man story comes from comics creator Brian Michael Bendis and takes place in the Ultimate Universe from Earth-1610. The entire storyline played out over the course of 20 comics and tells the story of Peter Parker dying. It takes place shortly after Peter's sixteenth birthday and him getting back together with Mary Jane. The main section of the story begins with Captain America training Spider-Man about fighting smarter, but Cap has to leave early to deal with Nick Fury and the Avengers. At the same time, Green Goblin, Doc Ock, Sandman, Kraven the Hunter, Electro, and Vulture escape prison. Norman tells them of his plan to kill Spider-Man, but he kills Doc Ock when he objects to the idea.
After Spider-Man learns of Doc Ock's death, he investigates the scene of the crime and soon finds Captain America nearby. Cap defeated Fury and was about to get shot by Punisher, but Spider-Man jumped in front of the bullet. The gunshot wound is non-fatal and Peter heads home to protect his family from the villains who want to kill him. He battles Vulture, Sandman, and Electro and is nearly killed before Aunt May kills Electro, with his discharge knocking Vulture and Sandman out too. Spider-Man then battles Green Goblin and manages to defeat him by slamming a truck on top of him. However, the truck explodes and critically injures Spider-Man. He dies shortly after but is pleased that he could save Aunt May and his family after failing to save Uncle Ben in the past.
Any standalone Spider-Man film that brings back Maguire will be highly anticipated. But, one with a story specifically about his death would draw even more attention. With Maguire back behind the mask again, Death of Spider-Man could give his story an ending with a sense of finality to it, not unlike what Fox managed to do with Hugh Jackman's Wolverine in Logan. The event nature of such an adaptation is merely a business reason why Sony could be incentivized to make this movie. However, it would also help give Maguire's Spider-Man the ending he deserves.
Spider-Man 3 is widely viewed as a flawed conclusion to Maguire's time as Spider-Man, and there were plans for some time to make Spider-Man 4. Fans are excited about the possibility of finally seeing Maguire again in Spider-Man: Homecoming 3, but the truth is that it won't be enough. He'll be a supporting character at best, not the lead, and that shouldn't be where the character's big-screen story ends. Adapting Death of Spider-Man with Maguire can't be a direct translation of the comics for a multitude of reasons, but the core of the story is still one that can work. Peter being an adult instead of a teenager doesn't change much of anything, and Sony is already building a lineup of villains that could be used for Spider-Man's final fight. With Death of Spider-Man, Maguire's Spider-Man would get one more chance to be the central star of a movie and deliver a better ending to his story.
In addition to Death of Spider-Man giving Sony a chance to re-do the conclusion of Maguire's Spider-Man's story, it could also be used to give the Sony Pictures Universe of Marvel Characters a brand new Spider-Man. The death of Peter Parker in the Ultimate Universe is what inspired Miles Morales to take up the mantle. Miles developed powers a few months before Peter's death but didn't want to be a hero right away. It wasn't until after Peter's death that Miles was inspired to use his spider-like powers to assume the Spider-Man mantle.
Miles Morales is one of the most popular Marvel characters now. After starring in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse and the launch of the Spider-Man: Miles Morales video game, it is only a matter of time before he makes a live-action debut in Sony's Spider-Verse or the MCU. The current Sony and Marvel deal will see them share Holland's version of the character, but Sony could claim Miles as their own with this story. This origin for Miles won't happen in the MCU anytime soon, so that means it would have to be Sony who introduces him if they want to follow the legacy aspect of the character. Maguire's Spider-Man is the best candidate to be the one who inspires Miles to use his powers for good. In this way, a Death of Spider-Man movie could be a powerful and emotional conclusion to Maguire's time as the character and give Sony the Spider-Man of the future who they can use as they please in other Spider-Verse films.