When the original Spider-Man film series starring Tobey Maguire ended after three installments, many fans probably believed they’d never see the actor don the costume again. That’s why it was such a thrill when Spider-Man: No Way Home rolled around, bringing back Maguire and Andrew Garfield’s variants of Peter Parker for a multiversal story that saw them team up with Tom Holland. No Way Home was incredibly successful, in large part due to the entertaining dynamic between the three Spider-Men. The film sparked a new wave of interest in seeing Maguire and/or Garfield headline another Spider-Man movie. While Garfield says The Amazing Spider-Man 3 won’t happen, there have been more hopeful signs for Maguire’s Spider-Man 4. Sadly, it’s time to let that dream die as well.
In an interview with Screen Rant to promote the release of his new horror film Send Help, director Sam Raimi addressed the status of a potential Spider-Man 4. He said it wouldn’t “be right for me to go back and try and resurrect my version of this story,” essentially putting the kibosh on a legacy sequel happening.
“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,” Raimi said. “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.”
Spider-Man 4 Shouldn’t Happen Without Sam Raimi
Image Courtesy of Sony
While Tom Holland’s Spider-Man film series is still going strong (with Spider-Man: Brand New Day due out this summer), The Batman Part II co-writer Mattson Tomlin has actually been trying to get a new Maguire-led installment off the ground. He provided an update on that project over the fall, remarking that even though there was a lot of red tape involved, “I haven’t gotten a ‘no’ yet!” This was exciting to hear, as the concept of Spider-Man 4 has a lot of potential, telling a story about Peter balancing the challenges of parenthood with his Spider-Man responsibilities.
As great as it would be to see Maguire and Kirsten Dunst back together as Peter and MJ, Spider-Man 4 shouldn’t happen if Raimi isn’t interested in returning. His distinct filmmaking style and passion for the source material are big reasons why his Spider-Man trilogy still resonates decades later. Theoretically, you could bring in another director to call the shots, but then Spider-Man 4 wouldn’t feel the same. It’s one thing for Maguire to play a supporting role in Holland’s movie, but if the OG live-action Spider-Man is going to be the main focus, then it should be Raimi behind the camera. As he demonstrated with Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, he’s still more than capable of crafting an entertaining, pulpy comic book film, so he’d undoubtedly do a great job with Spider-Man 4.
Raimi may be turning the page, but there’s still a chance we could see Maguire again in some capacity. Rumors persist his version of Spider-Man will show up in either Avengers: Doomsday or Avengers: Secret Wars, films that are taking advantage of the multiverse conceit to bring together multiple eras of Marvel cinema. It hasn’t been confirmed that Maguire will show up, but it would be strange if the Multiverse Saga came to a close without any appearance from a Spider-Man. As fans bid one final farewell to Fox’s X-Men cast in Doomsday, Maguire could receive a fitting send-off in one of the Avengers movies. There’s also speculation Sadie Sink could be playing Mayday Parker (daughter of Maguire’s Peter) in Brand New Day, so perhaps that could be a way to continue Maguire’s Spider-Man story.
And on the off chance Maguire doesn’t come back for an Avengers movie, at least fans will always have his No Way Home performance. It was nice to see him in the role again, and not just for nostalgic reasons. No Way Home made up for the disappointment of Spider-Man 3, which is widely considered to be the weakest of Raimi’s trilogy. Fans got proper closure with Maguire’s Peter, learning he found a way to make things work with Mary Jane. After all those years of superhero work, he seemed to have finally achieved the right balance and was at peace with himself. If that’s the last we see of Maguire, he went out on a high note.
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