Love it or hate it, one of the main hooks of the Marvel Cinematic Universe's Multiverse Saga has been the return of heroes we thought were long gone, and one of the first movies to capitalize on this very concept was Spider-Man: No Way Home. After a long hiatus, Andrew Garfield and Tobey Maguire's Peter Parkers swung back to the big screen for another adventure, and their comebacks might have big ramifications in the future.
It has been heavily reported that Tobey Maguire's Spider-Man will not only have a major role in Avengers: Doomsday, but that he'll be the only version of the wall-crawler to appear in the movie. Furthermore, Andrew Garfield's Peter Parker is rumored to show up during the events of Avengers: Secret Wars, along with his two multiversal counterparts.
At this point, their returns are all but confirmed in the big MCU crossovers to come. However, fans have wondered whether their solo franchises could keep moving forward further down the line. Fortunately, a new tease might suggest that could be the case.
Sam Raimi teases Spider-Man 4: 'The Day might come'
During an interview with The Associated Press, Sam Raimi—the acclaimed director behind the original Spider-Man franchise—discussed the possibility of returning to the director's chair for a fourth Tobey Maguire Spider-Man movie. While Raimi noted that it isn't the ideal timing to do so due to Tom Holland's successful saga, he added that the day might come, and that he'd be happy to revisit that world with those characters.
"Right now, Marvel is very successful on their own tangent with their own Spider-Man, where he is involved with the Avengers and the other superheroes, so I don't think it makes sense right now to break up that great, successful run that they're having just to allow me to make another Spider-Man movie, but I'd love to. The Day might come, and I'd love to do it."
The interest in making Spider-Man 4 has been growing in the movie industry for quite some time now. The Batman Part II co-writer Mattson Tomlin revealed that his dream superhero project would be to write another Tobey Maguire Spider-Man film, where Peter is a parent trying to balance his new responsibilities with saving the world. Furthermore, Tomlin added that he hasn't received a 'no' yet on bringing this idea to life.
The Ultimate Spider-Man comic book series was praised by fans and critics alike for reimagining its titular character as a father of two, married to Mary Jane. Granted, it can be argued that the series slowed down a bit towards the end, but there's no denying that such a take has infinite potential. After all, the Spider-Man character was first created so that comic book readers could finally relate to a superhero, so allowing parents to see themselves in Spidey would make for a great theatrical movie.
Interestingly enough, Sam Raimi had previously shut down the idea of directing a Spider-Man 4 movie, by stating, "[Peter Parker and Mary Jane have gone elsewhere] (...) It wouldn't be right for me to go back and try and resurrect my version of this story". However, the renowned director seems now open to returning to the franchise. Could Raimi's change of heart be a sign of some behind-the-scenes discussions taking place? It's a long shot, but perhaps Marvel is considering making fans' wishes a reality.
DC will have two concurrent versions of Batman on the big screen. Robert Pattinson's The Batman Part II is set to release in 2027, with the DCU's iteration of the character having a standalone movie in the form of The Brave and the Bold afterwards. So it's definitely possible for Tom Holland to continue as the MCU's Spider-Man while Tobey Maguire gets a farewell film. However, the idea also seems very unlikely.
Reliable insider Alex Perez claimed that both Andrew Garfield and Tobey Maguire's stories as Spider-Man would come to an end with the release of Avengers: Secret Wars. Besides, there's still a chance we get to see Peter as a parent on the big screen one day, but it will likely be Tom Holland's version. For the time being, it's best not to get our hopes up about a potential Spider-Man 4 movie. But if the day ever comes, let's hope that the original cast returns for one more adventure, and that Sam Raimi is behind the director's seat.