Ever since Spider-Man swung into theaters in 2002, there has seldom been much of a break between wall-crawler solo films. After the grand success of Sam Raimi and Tobey Maguire's first two solo films, Sony was eager to up the ante for the third entry by bringing three villains into the mix, creating an overcrowding problem that plagued the movie.
The director's troubles with the studio led to his refusal to return for the planned fourth installment and Andrew Garfield's The Amazing Spider-Man reboot just a few years later. Despite this, after several publicly released storyboards and tidbits of plot, fans can now get a solid idea of what Raimi had planned for Spider-Man 4.
Having made cameo appearances in the first trilogy, Raimi planned to introduce Bruce Campbell as Mysterio in Spider-Man 4, with storyboards revealing Peter would have arrested and unmasked him early on.
Vulture was set to be the main villain of the tale, with John Malkovich having even been cast in the role, demonstrating just how far along plans got.
The director was aiming to follow the fourth entry with both Spider-Man 5 and Spider-Man 6, which would have included Anne Hathaway as Black Cat and seen Dylan Baker's Curt Connors transforming into the Lizard.
Despite all the plans Raimi had, the project never saw the light of day; there was even a tie-in game fairly far along in development. But Tobey Maguire's recent return in No Way Home resurrected hope he may return for Spider-Man 4, and one producer is just as hopeful as fans.
Tobey Maguire's Spider-Man Producer Shares Continuation Hopes
In an interview with Gizmodo, Sam Raimi's Spider-Man producer Grant Curtis shared his hopes to see the canceled fourth installment get made years later.
Curtis called working on the original trilogy an "incredible opportunity career-wise" and shared his love for the stories told in the movies "as a fan:"
"The Spider-Man movies we made were an incredible opportunity career-wise. As a fan, I love the narratives that were generated from those three movies."
The now-Moon Knight producer went on to refer to the other stories "within those movies that did not get told" and shared his hopes that "those stories come out" and the "narrative continues:"
"There were other stories within those movies that did not get told. I hope someday, as any Spider-Man fan would tell you, that all those stories come out and that narrative continues."
Will Tobey Maguire's Spider-Man 4 Ever Happen?
Audiences were elated to see Tobey Maguire return as Spider-Man for the first time in fourteen years in No Way Home. After the unprecedented excitement Maguire and Andrew Garfield generated for their surprise appearance, Sony will be eager to replicate those reactions in the future.
While Tom Holland will continue to be the future of Spider-Man, the studio may look to include his Multiverse Variants in other ways. Fans are already calling for Garfield to return in The Amazing Spider-Man 3 and to be the wall-crawler of the VenomVerse, but what could be in store for Maguire?
The classic Spider-Man has already been rumored to return in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, but perhaps a fourth solo outing of his own could be on the cards.
Original director Sam Raimi recently shared his interest in taking the helm on another Spider-Man project. If Sony is interested in bringing Tobey Maguire back for a fourth solo outing of his own, it sounds as if Raimi may be up for taking on the directing duties.
With Tobey Maguire now in his late forties, compared to his early thirties at the time of writing, the original Spider-Man 4 plans may require some changes to fit an older Peter Parker and bring it up to the modern era.
One difficulty that may hinder a potential Spider-Man 4 could be the involvement of Sony. After all, the Maguire shown in No Way Home was written and directed by Marvel Studios. The studio's interference with Raimi's vision for the third installment caused a number of problems behind the scenes and in the final product.
Even if Spider-Man 4 never makes it to screen, that doesn't mean the story can never be told. DC recently released a comic continuation of Michael Keaton's '80s Batman. Perhaps Marvel could offer something similar for Maguire to bridge the gap between Spider-Man 3 and his return in No Way Home.
What the future holds for Tobey Maguire's Spider-Man remains to be seen, but No Way Home almost certainly won't be the last fans see of him.
