Can you will it into existence? Sometimes, the internet thinks it can. Lately, the online world has been rampant with rumors and whispers of lofty ambitions from Sony Pictures to resurrect Sam Raimi’s long-dead “Spider-Man 4” with Tobey Maguire reprising his iconic superhero role following the massive success of “Spider-Man: No Way Home.” While speaking with Comic Book Resources, the Marvel director advises fans to pump the breaks a little concerning his involvement or even direct knowledge of those rumored plans. He also stated that he hasn’t talked to Maguire and isn’t even sure why Sony would want to do that, given that Sony is still making the Tom Holland movies.
“Well, I haven’t heard about that yet,” Raimi recently told CBR at WonderCon when asked about reuniting with Maguire on a rumored fourth Spidey movie. “I did read that, but I’m not actually working on it yet. I mean, Marvel and Columbia are so successful with current ‘Spider-Man’ [movies], and the track there, and I don’t know that they’re going to go back to me and say, ‘Well, folks, we can also tell that story!’”
The filmmaker praised the last MCU installment featuring Maguire but doesn’t seem ready to say he’s jumping back in the Spidey saddle anytime soon, “I love all the new Spider-Man movies. I loved ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home.’ It was really, super powerful seeing Tobey [Maguire] again in it. I haven’t talked to Tobey about [a fourth movie with me], but maybe Marvel has or Columbia Pictures,” Raimi added. “I just worked with Marvel on a movie called ‘Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.’ So, I’m on great terms with them. I’m sure I would hear about it if it was in the works.”
We’ve seen both Maguire and Kirsten Dunst share their interest in returning to the franchise. Still, with Tom Holland poised to make a significant return with the other gestating “Spider-Man 4” over at Marvel Studios (a Raimi/Sony movie likely wouldn’t be a co-production with Marvel), the likelihood of a return in a competing full-length feature feels slim.
Neither Marvel nor Sony have announced concrete plans for “Spider-Man 4” (things like a release date that commonly happens long before production starts). However, the other set of rumblings suggests that a director search to replace “Spider-Man” director Jon Watts is still underway as a script is still quietly being worked on. We’ll just have to be a little more patient for official studio updates, but if the rumors are on target, we might see a fourth ‘Spider-Man’ film appear in late 2025.