Will Maguire & Raimi's Spider-Man 4 Ever Actually Happen?
Spider-Man: No Way Home has revived widespread interest in Sam Raimi and Tobey Maguire's Spider-Man 4, but could the long-lost sequel actually happen?
The anticipation for Tobey Maguire and Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 4 has grown substantially since Spider-Man: No Way Home, but the chances of the sequel actually coming to fruition are more complex. After a substantial 14-year hiatus from putting on the Spidey suit, the first major Spider-Man actor, Tobey Maguire, returned as a 40-year-old Peter Parker in the MCU’s Spider-Man: No Way Home. Reprising his role from Raimi’s Spider-Man universe, Maguire’s more experienced and mature Peter Parker traveled to the MCU for a Spider-Man team-up with Andrew Garfield and Tom Holland’s Spideys as they battled the villains from his first two movie outings.
Maguire’s No Way Home return as Spider-Man was a long-awaited feat for fans of the superhero’s first major movie outing, with Sam Raimi’s trilogy still being held in high regard among the subsequent iterations of Peter Parker. The last time Maguire put on the Spidey suit was in 2007’s Spider-Man 3, which is now considered the weakest installment of the trilogy. While critics and audiences deemed Spider-Man 3 a narrative disappointment after the widespread acclaim of its predecessors, the movie was still a massive success for Sony, with the sequel becoming the highest-grossing installment in the trilogy with $894.9 million in box office earnings worldwide.
Despite the mixed reviews of Spider-Man 3, Sam Raimi’s trilogy still proved itself worthy of a future, with the demand for Spider-Man 4 being even higher as a way to amend the story of Maguire’s hero. Eager to continue the franchise, Spider-Man 4 entered its developmental stages in 2007 with Raimi and Maguire set to return, including a fifth installment even being planned as a follow-up. By 2010, Spider-Man 4 was canceled by Sony, but this hasn’t stopped audience demand for a Maguire and Raimi return. Upon the franchise reboot with Andrew Garfield in 2012, the notion of a Maguire and Raimi return seemed a moot point. However, the appearance of Maguire in Spider-Man: No Way Home led to an online campaign for Raimi’s Spider-Man 4, with prospects for the sequel finally happening being higher than ever.
After Sam Raimi and Tobey Maguire were set to return for Spider-Man 4, the development of the sequel quickly grew to include a new script by Zodiac’s James Vanderbilt, rewrites, concept art, and the casting of new characters in subsequent years. However, Spider-Man 4’s development was reportedly plagued by creative disagreements between Sony and Raimi, with the director being unhappy with Spider-Man 3 and wanting to make Spider-Man 4 the best installment in the series. Raimi explained to Vulture that even by 2010 he couldn’t get a proper script finalized in time, with Sony worried about having to push back even further from Spider-Man 4’s scheduled May 2011 release date.
Unwilling to make a sequel that wasn’t incredible by his standards, Raimi withdrew from the picture before shooting began, telling Sony to cancel Spider-Man 4 and go ahead with the reboot they'd been planning — which would soon become Garfield’s The Amazing Spider-Man movies. While Spider-Man 4 was canceled after at least three years in development, Raimi explained that he and Sony still ended on good terms, with then studio head Amy Pascal thanking him for his candor and not wasting the studio’s finances.
It has been over a decade since Sony scrapped Spider-Man 4, but Spider-Man: No Way Home has finally motivated the studio, director, and actors to seriously reconsider a return to Tobey Maguire and Sam Raimi's universe. While Sony has yet to hint at relaunching the sequel, Raimi’s comments on a Spider-Man 4 return give hope to the cause. After joining the MCU as the director of Doctor Stranger in the Multiverse of Madness, Sam Raimi revealed that his new Marvel venture has made him consider the possibility of continuing his unfinished Spider-Man series. He explained that before launching into the multiverse with Doctor Strange 2, he didn’t think returning to Spider-Man would be viable, but now he believes “anything is possible” and he’s “completely open” to making Spider-Man 4.
While seeing Maguire don his Spidey suit again seemed like an unlikely occurrence before Spider-Man: No Way Home, the MCU movie finally appeased the wishes for his Peter Parker return, even if that doesn’t mean a full Spider-Man 4 project is imminent. So far, Maguire hasn’t given any indication as to whether he’s interested in coming back for Spider-Man 4, though he felt that No Way Home was a proper way to continue and perhaps add closure to his character’s story. On the other hand, Kirsten Dunst, who played Spider-Man love interest Mary Jane Watson in Raimi's trilogy, seems to be enthusiastic about the opportunity to swing back into the unfinished universe. Alongside comments about wanting to join the multiverse of the MCU, Dunst has previously expressed her openness to reprising her role as MJ.
When answering whether he would return for Spider-Man 4, Sam Raimi explained that while he’s open to it, he doesn’t have a story laid out. Considering it’s been 15 years since Spider-Man 3, and No Way Home has introduced new developments for Maguire’s Peter Parker, a new Spider-Man 4 likely wouldn’t be using its original narrative template. Back in 2007, Spider-Man 4’s original script planned to see Dr. Curt Connors transform into the villainous Lizard. But the character instead was carried over to Andrew Garfield’s The Amazing Spider-Man. Various reports and storyboards revealed Spider-Man 4 was also set to co-star Anne Hathaway as Felicia Hardy/Black Cat and John Malkovich as Adrian Toomes/The Vulture while also featuring include the villain Mysterio.
Considering every confirmed villain planned for Spider-Man 4 has now been used in The Amazing Spider-Man films or the MCU’s Spider-Man trilogy, it’s unlikely that Raimi’s story would still focus on these same characters. While the multiverse still means that anything goes in terms of the Peter Parkers fighting the same — but different — villains, Sony isn’t apt to repeat major battles with these characters so close together. Rather, Raimi's Spider-Man 4 story would likely need a new villain for Maguire’s Peter Parker to face, perhaps one that would connect better with his conflicts as a 40-year-old compared to the young hero grieving Harry’s death in the original script.
Spider-Man: No Way Home has launched the best campaign for Spider-Man 4 since the end of Sam Raimi’s trilogy, but this doesn’t necessarily mean it happening is a given. If Tobey Maguire was to return as Peter Parker in a full movie, it likely wouldn’t happen for several more years, perhaps exploring him as a 50-year-old mentor rather than the 40-year-old Spider-Man who assisted Holland’s conflicted MCU hero. Maguire hasn’t made many comments either way about returning, so Spider-Man 4 would require Sony to work with Raimi on a sequel that feels worth it for the actor to don his Spidey suit again for a full-length outing. While Raimi and Kirsten Dunst seem on board to restart Spider-Man 4’s development, the chances of it coming to fruition aren’t high until Maguire is locked in.
While making sure the cast and director are willing to come back is important, Spider-Man 4 is also hindered by Sony and Marvel’s separate plans for the future. Marvel has already revealed its plans for another Spider-Man trilogy, and while it’s unconfirmed which Peter Parker would be starring in those movies, the odds point to Tom Holland reprising his role as the web-slinger. With Holland taking the lead as the MCU’s Spidey, Raimi’s movie is also less realistic when considering that the demand for The Amazing Spider-Man 3 got much more attention after No Way Home. It’s been widely felt that if any of the Spideys deserved another full-length outing, it was Garfield’s character, with his Peter Parker stealing the show in No Way Home. Since fan campaigns are also encouraging the studio to consider Andrew Garfield as the Peter Parker in its official Sony's Spider-Man Universe franchise, perhaps as Eddie Brock’s foe in Venom 3, Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man is the least likely candidate for a full return.
If the demand for Spider-Man 4 remains as strong in the upcoming years and Sony finds a place for it outside of Holland and Garfield’s anticipated ventures in the lineup, then the wishes for the sequel may finally be granted. However, since Maguire hasn’t necessarily expressed interest in a full return to the franchise, seeing him again in one of the Spider-Man universes is much more likely to be in a minor or cameo role similar to his appearance in No Way Home. This isn’t to say that audiences should count Spider-Man 4 out of the realm of possibility, but that it isn’t highly realistic for it to happen until much further down the road.