Marvel star talks about the possibility of reviving beloved superhero saga

There have been many iconic superhero live-action sagas over the years, but few have been as influential as Sam Raimi's Spider-Man. Watching the friendly neighborhood hero swing across New York's skyline and crawl on the side of buildings for the very first time was nothing short of iconic—so much so that we witnessed his adventures throughout three amazing Marvel movies (the last of which wasn't well-received during its time, but has since gained a bit more love).

Unfortunately, the wall-crawler's first live-action saga had a very abrupt conclusion in the form of Spider-Man 3. Tobey Maguire's time as Peter Parker came to an end sooner than expected, and his character didn't get a chance at a proper farewell. Instead, all we have is an open-ended sequence where Peter dances with MJ after losing Harry and defeating Venom. That being said, this wasn't intended to be the original plan.

Sony planned for Sam Raimi's Spider-Man 4 to be released in 2011, before opting for a full-on reboot with Andrew Garfield in the lead. But while the original vision for the movie may never come to fruition, there has been a lot of discourse about whether it could still see the light of day and how it would be adapted for the modern day. Even one of the stars of the saga has weighed in on the matter and thinks a specific storyline could be worth exploring.

Kirsten Dunst discusses the idea of making Spider-Man 4 with Peter and MJ as parents

Mattson Tomlin might've just finished co-writing the script of The Batman Part II, but he already has a pitch for another beloved superhero franchise. When asked what his vision would be for a Spider-Man movie, Mattson revealed that he would be interested in writing a script where Tobey Maguire's Peter Parker is a father, and has to balance his new responsibilities with those of being a husband and a life-saving superhero:

Furthermore, during an episode of The Supes Show!, Mary Jane actress Kirsten Dunst was asked what her take on this idea is, to which she responded: "That would be cool, right? I mean, I don't know if the fans are into it. I feel like that is an interesting movie, right? Me and Tobey doing that again but with kids". The short answer is: Yes, fans would absolutely love the idea. Better yet, there's evidence to back this statement.

Peter Parker is normally pictured as a timid teenager trying to balance high school while being a superhero. As a result, his adult life has mostly remained unexplored in most adaptations, and he has never tied the knot in live-action (let alone have kids). However, the Ultimate Spider-Man comic book saga has not only proven that this type of story could work, but also that it has the potential to be one of the character's most memorable arcs.

To say fans have responded positively to watching Peter be married to Mary Jane and take care of his kids would be an understatement. Perhaps one of the series' best traits is that it's full of heartwarming moments.

Ultimate Spider-Man is all about the impact that Peter's family has on him—whether that is Mary Jane coming up with the "Spider-Man" title thanks to her work as a marketer, or May Parker picking up the color palette of his father's supersuit to make him look less scary. Even Peter's son, Richard, has worn the symbiote suit and helped keep New York City safe as a (way less scary and friendly) version of Venom.

When everything goes sideways for Ultimate Peter, he decides to go into hiding with his family in order to keep them safe. The series might be filled with heart, but the stakes are also higher than ever. Similarly, Spider-Man 4 could be all about how Peter's family could get to have a positive impact on his personal and heroic life, but it would also mean that the bad guys would try to take advantage of this situation. Besides, we all know that the best Spider-Man stories have him juggle between many different aspects of his life, which would make for a perfect parenthood arc.

DC will have two concurrent versions of Batman on the big screen: one portrayed by Robert Pattinson in the Elseworlds series, while the other has yet to be cast for the mainline DCU. With that in mind, there's no reason for Marvel not to do the same with Spidey. Tobey could have one more go as a grown-up version of the wall-crawler while we simultaneously watch Tom Holland's Peter Parker go through college and slowly reach adulthood. Of course, there's very little chance that this will ever come to be, but it never hurts to dream.