Sam Raimi explains what he would have to "figure out" if he ever made Spider-Man 4 with Tobey Maguire

Spider-Man
(Image credit: Sony Pictures)

Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 4 is probably one of the greatest ‘what ifs’ in comic book movie history. Now, the director has spoken about the narrative roadblocks he would need to address if he ever swung back into the director’s chair for a new Spidey movie with Tobey Maguire.

"I think if we were to make a fourth Spider-Man film, we’d probably have to figure out the journey that Tobey Maguire’s character would be going on and what obstacles he had to overcome to achieve that growth personally," Raimi, who directed three Spider-Man movies from 2002 to 2007, told TheWrap. "And I hope that the villains would be chosen based on a representation of that obstacle."

Raimi, however, admitted he hadn’t thought about what exactly would stand in the way of Tobey Maguire’s Peter Parker because he would "have to talk with Tobey and the writers and really figure out what his personal growth for this episode would be."

Never say never, but Sam Raimi – as of right now – isn’t attached to a new Spider-Man movie or any other Marvel movie after helming Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.

That, of course, hasn’t dented fans’ hopes. Tobey Maguire returned to the role in Spider-Man: No Way Home, while the book With Great Power: How Spider-Man Conquered Hollywood During The Golden Age of Blockbusters by CinemaBlend managing editor Sean O’Connell revealed that John Malkovich was once in line to play Vulture in Spider-Man 4 opposite Maguire. 

Over in the MCU, Tom Holland has revealed he has been involved in early creative discussions for his Spider-Man 4, telling Deadline that "We have the best in the business working toward whatever the story might be. But until we’ve cracked it, we have a legacy to protect.” Who knows, we might even get two Spider-Man 4 movies down the line...

For more, check out our full ranking of the best Spider-Man movies.

Bradley Russell

I'm the Senior Entertainment Writer here at 12DOVE, focusing on news, features, and interviews with some of the biggest names in film and TV. On-site, you'll find me marveling at Marvel and providing analysis and room temperature takes on the newest films, Star Wars and, of course, anime. Outside of GR, I love getting lost in a good 100-hour JRPG, Warzone, and kicking back on the (virtual) field with Football Manager. My work has also been featured in OPM, FourFourTwo, and Game Revolution.

Read more
Spider-Man: No Way Home
Andrew Garfield denies being signed up for Spider-Man 4, but also knows "no one’s gonna trust" him after No Way Home
Sony reportedly could have used Tom Holland’s Spider-Man in its Spider-Man Universe movies all along, but wanted to focus on the villains instead
Spider-Man: No Way Home
This is why fans think Spider-Man will become the MCU's most important character after Avengers: Doomsday
Furiosa
Spider-Man 4 may include a Marvel heroine although Sony cannot confirm it will be Anya Taylor-Joy as Black Cat, says boss: "There’s a lot of fantastic female characters, but I can't talk about all this"
Hugh Jackman as Wolverine and Deadpool walking in front of a damaged store during the Marvel movie Deadpool and Wolverine.
There's a moment in Deadpool and Wolverine involving Spider-Man that you might have misinterpreted
Venom in The Last Dance
Scrapped Kraven the Hunter concept art reveals Venom connection cut from the movie
Latest in Superhero Movies
Batman and Catwoman talking
Robert Pattinson is hoping to team up with his The Batman co-star Zoe Kravitz on another project soon
The cast of Thunderbolts
Thunderbolts director says the new Marvel movie is inspired by Toy Story 3: "Can they get out of the trash can together?"
Robert Downey Jr announces his Doctor Doom casting at San Diego Comic-Con 2024
"He is so dialed in": Robert Downey Jr. is coming up with backstory and costume ideas for Doctor Doom ahead of Avengers: Doomsday
Robert Pattinson as Bruce Wayne in The Batman
Robert Pattinson worries he will be a "f*cking old Batman" by the time filming on The Batman 2 finally starts
Lewis Pullman as "Bob" in Thunderbolts
The first look at Thunderbolts' Sentry suit seemingly leaked in new Marvel merchandise
Spider-Man: No Way Home
This is why fans think Spider-Man will become the MCU's most important character after Avengers: Doomsday
Latest in News
Balatro
Balatro creator started "properly playing the game myself about a week before launch" and had "a pretty emotional moment" where he realized it's "actually fun"
Death Stranding 2 Collector's Edition
Hideo Kojima reveals Death Stranding 2: On the Beach release date, and the Collector's Edition includes exactly what I predicted it would
Kingmakers
Kingmakers is a strategy game about taking on medieval armies with a gun, but its devs thought the giant mech was too much
The Witcher 3 lead says "not many games" were trying to match the RPG back in 2015, and that meant "there was a risk" to making it in the first place
The Blood of Dawnwalker
The Witcher 3 dev says his new vampire RPG Blood of Dawnwalker wants to challenge genre conventions, but only if "we're changing them to actually achieve some goal"
Daredevil recap: The Defenders
Marvel fans are discussing which of the Netflix series characters would have survived the Blip