‘The Batman’ Writer Reignites Hope for One of the Most Sought-After Superhero Sequels

The Spider-Man franchise has been one of the steadier film series in the MCU since Tom Holland took on the iconic superhero role. However, fans have long mourned the canceled Spider-Man 4 film by Sam Raimi, which would have seen Tobey Maguire’s hero up against Vulture and Black Cat. While that scrapped idea remains in a vault somewhere, a talented writer has revived talks about penning a script for a fourth Spider-Man film, starring Maguire and Kirsten Dunst.

On X, The Batman – Part II co-writer Mattson Tomlin responded to a fan asking about his Spider-Man 4 idea, which he is interested in turning into a script. Tomlin does not have anything concrete just yet, nor official approval from the studio or talent, but he revealed that it will be a “slow and steady” process. The positive sign is that he has not “gotten a ‘no’ yet,” which could mean the related parties are waiting to see what he comes up with before deciding on reviving Spider-Man 4.

“Slow and steady wins the race. There won’t be anything to say about that for a long time (if ever!) because it involves a lot of people and politics and things going right that have nothing to do with me, but I haven’t gotten a ‘no’ yet!”

Previously, Tomlin said that his pitch for Spider-Man 4 revolved around an older Peter Parker, played by Maguire, dealing with his double life as a vigilante and a husband/father. Although Spider-Man: No Way Home did not reveal if his character had a child or not, it is confirmed that he is still with Mary Jane Watson, played by Dunst. It seems Tomlin is picking up on that thread as the basis for his script idea, which would still need approval by all parties, especially Sam Raimi himself. In an X post from July, Tomlin stated the following about his vision for Spider-Man 4:

“Honestly, right now my main interest in this respect would be to write a Spider-Man 4 where Tobey’s Spider-Man is juggling being a husband and a father. Spider-Man as a father is where I gravitate towards given the last 8 films.”