Throughout the years, multiple superhero movies have been announced only to eventually get cancelled, much to fans' disappointment (or, on some occasions, relief). Remember when the Inhumans film was supposed to be an integral part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe? Or what about that time when Sony was keen on doing a project around obscure Spider-Man villain El Muerto? Some promises have unfortunately led nowhere, and while most of them are easy to forget, there is one in particular that still hurts to this very day.
Sam Raimi's Spider-Man 4 was originally intended to be released on May 6, 2011—continuing Tobey Maguire's journey as the friendly neighborhood hero on the big screen. However, Sony eventually decided to reboot the hero's franchise as a whole (twice), and now Tom Holland is the face of Peter Parker in the MCU. But while it's impossible to deny that excitement levels are through the roof for the upcoming Spider-Man: Brand New Day, sometimes we can't help but wonder what the elusive Spider-Man 4 could've been like. Fortunately, there's a slim chance that we won't have to wonder anymore, as Tobey Maguire could swing onto the big screen for one last stand-alone adventure.
The Batman Part II co-writer gives interesting Spider-Man 4 update
Back in July 2025, The Batman Part II co-writer Mattson Tomlin revealed that he would like to work on a Spider-Man 4 movie in which Peter acts as a parent and has to juggle his new responsibilities with being a superhero. Furthermore, Mary Jane Watson herself, Kirsten Dunst, revealed that she thinks this is an "interesting" and "cool" idea for a movie, further giving us hope that the project could have a bit of traction behind it. Fortunately, it seems the gears are moving behind the scenes in the hopes of bringing such a storyline to life.
Mattson Tomlin recently gave an interesting update on Spider-Man 4's status by saying: "There won’t be anything to say about that for a long time (if ever!) because it involves a lot of people and politics and things going right that have nothing to do with me, but I haven’t gotten a 'no' yet!".
On the one hand, this is far from a confirmation that Spider-Man 4 will ever come to be. On the other hand, the statement suggests that talks for making the movie have already taken place. Furthermore, the idea that the project wasn't torn down from the get-go is very exciting. After all, it was recently confirmed that The Amazing Spider-Man 3 won't ever see the light of day, so it could've been very easy to do the same with a fourth entry in Tobey's saga.
The Ultimate Spider-Man (2024) comic book series has proven that fans can be truly invested in a story where Peter is married to Mary Jane, has to watch after his kids, and yet finds the time to suit up as a superhero and save the day. Besides, such a concept would be unlike anything we've seen before even after eight Spider-Man movies, so that's definitely an added benefit.
But before we get our hopes a little too high, it's important to remember that reliable insider Alex Perez claimed that Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield's time as Spider-Man will come to an end after the release of Avengers: Secret Wars. While such a scoop indirectly confirms that we'll see more of the two wall-crawlers in the MCU, it also indicates that there are no plans for them to have more standalone projects. Besides, Kevin Feige revealed that there will be only a "singular timeline" after the Multiverse Saga comes to an end. If that ends up being the case, then chances are Marvel won't focus on any character variants moving forward, and Tobey Maguire's Peter Parker is one of them.
Plans consistently change and shift within the MCU, so there could always be a chance that the elusive Spider-Man 4 truly comes to be. But, for the time being, we'll have to keep hoping that Mattson Tomlin can bring such a project to life. With a bit of luck, not only does it come to be, but it also proves to be a worthy addition to Tobey's live-action saga.