By now, Sam Raimi‘s unmade “Spider-Man 4” is something of comic book movie myth and lore. Had things come together, the movie would’ve seen Tobey Maguire‘s webslinger battle Vulture and Black Cat, which had names like John Malkovich and Anne Hathaway linked to the roles, respectively. However, while the movie did get pretty far along in pre-production, it was ultimately scrapped, with the studio favoring a reboot instead.
READ MORE: How Summer 2016 Could Rock Hollywood’s Confidence In Franchises And Sequels
“It really was the most amicable and undramatic of breakups: It was simply that we had a deadline and I couldn’t get the story to work on a level that I wanted it to work,” the director said about the collapse of “Spider-Man 4” a few years back. “…I couldn’t get the script together in time, due to my own failings, and I said to Sony, ‘I don’t want to make a movie that is less than great, so I think we shouldn’t make this picture. Go ahead with your reboot, which you’ve been planning anyway.’ ”
But a new window has been opened into what could have been thanks to storyboard artist Jeffrey Henderson, who has shared his work on “Spider-Man 4” on his website. And he reveals that Raimi was well aware that “Spider-Man 3” was a disappointment, and hoped the fourth would make up for that.
“It would’ve been one absolutely kick ass movie. Seriously. We were working on some crazy-cool stuff, because everyone, from top to bottom, felt that Spidey-3 was a bit of a ‘missed opportunity’, and we all really wanted to help Sam take SM4 to another level so he could end the series on a high note,” Henderson writes.
And when reached by io9, the artist reveals the plan for an opening sequence which would’ve featured a rogue’s gallery of villains, including Bruce Campbell appearing in a cameo role as Mysterio.
“[It was] a montage of C and D-list villains that we knew would never be used as main antagonists: Mysterio, the Shocker, the Prowler, the old school-onesie-wearing version of the Rhino, maybe even the Stilt Man,” Henderson said, adding that the goal was make the main villain, Vulture, “the most fearsome and formidable adversary that Spider-Man had faced in the series.”
A more mecha-version of Rhino, played by Paul Giamatti, appeared in “The Amazing Spider-Man 2,” while Michael Keaton will play Vulture in next year’s “Spider-Man: Homecoming.” As for what they’ve could’ve been in Raimi’s hands, you’ll have to use your imagination. Check out some storyboards below, and more on Henderson’s site.
