Sam Raimi on Marvel's 'Spider-Man 4′: "I haven't talked to Tobey about it"

Sam Raimi was the director of Sony’s trilogy of ‘Spider-Man’ films in the 2000s. His return as director of a Marvel film with ‘Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness’ (2022) and the return of Tobey Maguire himself as the Spidey of Raimi’s films in ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ (2021) have since led to all sorts of rumors and speculation about Sam Raimi’s possible return as director of a ‘Spider-Man 4′ that would be part of the MCU. Raimi himself has responded to these rumors in no uncertain terms, stating that he has not yet contacted Maguire.

Sam Raimi talks about the MCU’s hypothetical ‘Spider-Man 4′: “I would hear about it if it was in the works”

Thomas Haden Church, who played Flint Marko aka Sandman in ‘Spider-Man 3′ (2007) and ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ (2021), said in an interview with ComicBook at the time that he would like to appear in a fourth Spider-Man film directed by Sam Raimi. These statements were the main source of rumors about this hypothetical fourth installment, starring an adult and mature Spider-Man brought back to life by Tobey Maguire, the star of Raimi’s original trilogy.

But rumors are rumors, and Sam Raimi himself talked about it in ComicBook, where he commented: “Well, I haven’t heard about that yet - I did read that, but I’m not actually working on it yet.” Raimi himself thinks that if this project had been greenlit, both Marvel and Columbia Pictures would have contacted him, but that wasn’t the case.

“I haven’t talked to Tobey about it, but maybe Marvel has, or Columbia Pictures. But, 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. I think so. I don’t know, commented the director.

Considering his position as director of Tobey Maguire’s trilogy of ‘Spider-Man’ films and the current good relations with Marvel given his direction of ‘Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness’ in 2021, Raimi himself puts the facts on the table and states flatly that if this ‘Spider-Man 4′ existed, he must know something. At the time, there were indeed plans for this fourth installment to be a direct sequel to ‘Spider-Man 3′ (2007), and details went beyond that, as John Malkovich would have played the villain Vulture.

Raimi is not one to play games in interviews to divert attention from a real project when both the press and fans are about to find out something big. Anyway, the next MCU project to hit theaters will be ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ with Ryan Reynolds and the triumphant return of Hugh Jackman as Wolverine. Considering that the Marvel Cinematic Universe opened the door to the concept of multiverses some time ago, and that this is exactly what ‘Deadpool 3′ will be about, it might not be too far-fetched to find a cameo or joke at the expense of Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man.