As we saw with “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” everything is now possible in the multiverse. Sony’s ‘No Way Home’ utilized the infinite possibilities of the multiverse to reunite its three Spider-Men, Tobey Maguire, Andrew Garfield, and Tom Holland, and its nostalgia power was a smashing success, grossing nearly $2 billion dollars worldwide in the middle of the pandemic. And though it was once thought of as a kind of one-off, with Marvel reportedly doing a similar kind of thing for “Deadpool & Wolverine”—turning the film into a nostalgic throwback and goodbye for 20th Century Fox’s version of Marvel’s universe—the possibility of any of these Spider-Men coming back for more feels like a real chance.
Thomas Hayden Church, who played Sandman in Sam Raimi’s “Spider-Man 3” and the aforementioned “Spider-Man: No Way Home” seems to think so. Or hopes so anyhow. In a recent interview with ComicBookMovie, Church said he’s heard rumors that Sony may ask him back for more Spider-Man movie appearances, and if so, he says he’d be back in a heartbeat.
“[With] Sandman, there have been some rumors that they might ask me to do another Spider-Man, and I’d do it tomorrow,” Church said, though it’s unclear if he’s just talking about the many online rumors that suggest more or less the same. “You know, they’ve never asked me to show up in another movie, another Marvel film, but, you know, I think Sam [Raimi] is gonna do another ‘Spider-Man’ with Tobey [Maguire], and that’s the one that … They had an option for me to do ‘Spider-man 4’ when there was going to be a ‘Spider-man 4.’ They had an option on me to come back. So if it happens, that would be fantastic. I’m getting a little old.”
Church is potentially talking about a few things. Sam Raimi has been rumored to be one of the filmmakers that may take on “Avengers: Secret Wars”—a film the ComicBookMovie writer brought up in the middle of the conversation, which may have steered him in that direction. He’s also talking about the “Spider-Man 4” movie that Raimi was going to direct way back when, starring Anne Hathaway and John Malkovich as the villains (Kraven The Hunter, too), a movie that was famously canceled at the last minute when Raimi decided to walk away (and Sony pivoted to their Andrew Garfield reboot which was already simultaneously in development as a fall back in case Raimi walked which he did).
As for the state of the next “Spider-Man 4” proper movie at Sony, produced by Marvel and starring Tom Holland. Well, if you believe the potentially specious rumors online, they go something like this: Sony and Marvel are currently butting on the direction of the movie. Sony reportedly wants another multiversal film, and Marvel apparently wants something more street-level and potentially connected to the world of the Kingpin, who we saw at the end of the “Echo” series deciding that he was going to run for NYC’s mayor (and the additional speculation is Daredevil, Punisher and several of those characters could be involved too). There’s also talk of introducing a live-action Miles Morales, bringing back filmmaker Jon Watts as a director (something Sony apparently wants), and more.
Honestly, there’s so many rumors on that film, it’s hard to know what to believe, but regardless, know that none of it is official at the moment, so maybe take it with a grain of salt. But frankly, I’d believe Sam Raimi comes back for an ‘Avengers’ film more than I would believe Sony does a full-blown “Spider-Man 4” with Maguire, so hopefully, Church has his expectations in check.
As for the mooted “Sideways” sequel with Paul Giamatti and director Alexander Payne, Church is much less hopeful there and now believes it’s basically dead.
“I don’t think it’s ever gonna happen,” Church revealed. “There were some conversations about it probably three years ago. They pitched me the story of what they wanted us to do, which was a great idea and there was some talk about it but then it just sort of, I don’t know, it just drifted away.” What is on Payne’s docket however is the sequel to “Election” with Reese Witherspoon, based on the book which he hopes to direct in the future once the script is nailed down.
