Sam Raimi has given a definitive answer on whether he has any interest in returning to direct Spider-Man 4 with Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst. Sam Raimi’s original Spider-Man trilogy is regarded as one of the best superhero trilogies of all time, particularly the first two movies. However, for many fans, the story was sadly cut short when Sony Pictures scrapped Spider-Man 4 in favor of The Amazing Spider-Man. In an age of legacy sequels and actors returning to play their iconic roles, there have been hopes that Sony Pictures and Marvel Studios could come to some agreement to allow Raimi to finish his Spider-Man movie saga with a fourth movie.
Yet the director seems to have no interest in returning to Spider-Man. Speaking with Screen Rant, Raimi said that he believes Maguire’s Spider-Man and Kirsten Dunst’s Mary Jane Watson “have gone elsewhere,” referring to the franchise moving on with Andrew Garfield and Tom Holland. Raimi particularly spoke highly of Holland’s interpretation of Spider-Man, saying that audiences are invested in that story and that he wouldn’t “be right for me to go back and try and resurrect my version of this story.” Raimi said he loves the franchise and “the producers that make it,” while also praising Marvel Studios for being “better than ever,” after having worked with the studio on Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Raimi said:
“Stan Lee’s great character — that a bullpen of writers in New York at Marvel had come up with stories for — he created the character, but so many people contributed, so many artists, that for a brief time I was handed the torch to carry on after 40 years of Spider-Man comics. And then after my three movies, I handed the torch off to someone else. And I think they’ve got to keep running with the storyline and the audience that is now following the torchbearer.”
Marvel Studios Should Learn from Sam Raimi
Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 4 is one of the most famous what-if stories in film history. Following the poor reaction to Spider-Man 3, Raimi wanted to redeem the franchise for fans and had cast John Malkovich to play Adrian Toomes / The Vulture while Anne Hathaway was cast as Felicia Hardy, though the character would not suit up as Black Cat and instead become the Vultress. The film was set for a May 6, 2011, release. However, in January 2010, when it was clear that the film wouldn’t be ready in time, Raimi told Sony Pictures they should reboot instead, as he would not be ready in time. Spider-Man 4 was canceled, and The Amazing Spider-Man was put into development, which ultimately led to the deal with Marvel Studios, which rebooted the franchise with Tom Holland as Spider-Man.
In many ways, Raimi’s willingness to let go is refreshing. At a time when studios and filmmakers keep bringing back legacy actors to cash in on nostalgia and not allow a new generation of fans to put their own spin on the story, Raimi doesn’t want to do that with Spider-Man and is happy letting his story be done and allowing Spider-Man to move beyond his interpretation. Raimi himself moved on to direct Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and has since thrown his name into the mix to direct a Batman movie for DC Studios.
Yet ironically, Marvel Studios is not done with Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man. Not only did they bring him back for Spider-Man: No Way Home, but the actor is rumored to appear in Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars. Hopefully, after the Multiverse Saga, Marvel Studios will take a page out of Sam Raimi’s book and prioritize new characters, actors, and stories rather than looking to past hits like Avengers: Endgame, The X-Men films, and the original Raimi Spider-Man movies.
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