Spider-Man 4 Faces Major Setback as Director Reveals Unexpected Update

Well, we can all stop holding our breath for that long-rumored Spider-Man 4 with Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst. After years of hopeful speculation (and even more wild fan theories), director Sam Raimi just came out and said what a lot of us suspected: it’s not happening. The report comes from a new ScreenRant interview, where Raimi gives the final word on why we’ll never see his version of Spidey swinging through New York again.

Sam Raimi Shuts the Door (Firmly) on Spider-Man 4

There’s been no shortage of campaigning from fans, and even from a few folks involved — but Raimi made it clear that tapping him for another round with Maguire 'wouldn’t be right.' Here's the money quote from Raimi, for anyone still clinging to hope:

'I love Spider-Man. And I love Marvel and the producers that make it. But they're really into the story they're telling now [with Tom Holland]. It wouldn't be right for me to go back and try to resurrect my version.'

In plain English: Marvel and Sony are laser-focused on the Tom Holland iterations. Raimi can respect the shift, but he knows it's time to let go of his web-slinging universe.

Raimi also took a nostalgic look back on his trilogy, saying that he feels 'honored' to be part of Spider-Man's long pop culture history — but he recognizes it's meant to evolve and change hands, comic style:

'Stan Lee's great character…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. And then after my three movies, I handed the torch off to someone else.'

What Could Have Been (But Definitely Won't)

If you're looking for an interesting sidebar: Yes, there actually was a Spider-Man 4 in development, at least in the early days. Raimi wanted to bring villains like the Vulture and Mysterio into the mix, and there were actual story outlines and pre-production plans at one point. But between script troubles, development delays, and a studio that was increasingly getting antsy, the whole thing fell apart. That’s when Sony decided to pull the plug and rebooted the franchise with Andrew Garfield instead. Ouch.

What the Cast Says, and Where They’ve Been Since

• Tobey Maguire came back as Spidey (kind of inexplicably but who’s complaining) in No Way Home, alongside Tom Holland and Andrew Garfield.
• Kirsten Dunst has publicly said she’s open to returning as Mary Jane, as has Maguire. But again, don’t hold your breath.
• Sam Raimi himself got back into the Marvel mix with Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, so clearly there’s no bad blood with Marvel or anything like that.

Maybe the weirdest bit here is that even scriptwriter Mattson Tomlin tried to get a revival of Spider-Man 4 off the ground, but again, it’s all nostalgia-fueled wishful thinking at this point.

Bottom Line: The Web Is Cut

There’s no secret project in the works, no plans for Raimi and Maguire to ride again. In other words, the old Spider-Man crew has hung up their webs for good — Marvel wants to focus on new stories, new Spider-Men, and, let’s be real, a whole lot more merchandising opportunities.

Unless there’s some multiverse scenario we can’t predict (again), consider this particular story closed — straight from the source.