Exclusive: Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man 4 Is Actually In The Works
After some work from a trusted and proven inside source for Giant Freakin Robot, we have learned that Sony is currently revisiting the idea of Tobey Maguire's Spider-Man 4 in a new way.
This article is more than 2 years old
Before there was Tom Holland, before there was Andrew Garfield, and even before there was a Marvel Cinematic Universe, there was Tobey Maguire as Spider-Man. Originally in three movies for Sony, there were serious plans for a fourth. In fact, years were spent trying to make Spider-Man 4 happen for a 2011 release date, but instead, the movie was scrapped in 2010 and a reboot with Andrew Garfield graced the screens instead. While that reboot turned into its own phenomenon, so much work was done on Spider-Man 4 that fans have remained curious about what could have been. Over a decade later, the conversation hasn’t stopped. After some work from a trusted and proven inside source for Giant Freakin Robot, we have learned that Sony is currently revisiting the idea of Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man 4 in a new way.
Our source shared that because of the huge success Sony has recently seen with Spider-Man, they are considering making Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man 4. The current idea is to tell the fourth story as an animated movie. The style would be something similar to what fans have loved with Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse.
While we learned that Sony is considering this, it sounds like it’s still in the early stages, which makes sense. There’s a lot happening for Marvel and Sony with Spider-Man right now. Still, we have a lot of questions, most of which the studio may currently be working on themselves. While they’re looking at creating this project right now with Tobey Maguire, would Kirsten Dunst be involved? She played Mary Jane Watson in the first three films. When Spider-Man 4 was discussed, director Sam Raimi said he couldn’t imagine making another one without her. At the same time, she wasn’t confirmed for the sequel when it was eventually cancelled. Another interesting question here is at what point in the timeline Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man 4 would pick up. Animation leaves a lot of room for options here.
Potentially, an animated Spider-Man 4 could pick up right where Spider-Man 3 left off, with Tobey Maguire asking Kirsten Dunst for a dance. The original plans for the live-action version aren’t likely to be held too tightly. It’s been reported that Vulture would have been the main villain, with Anne Hathaway playing Felicia Hardy (Black Cat). However, one of the main reasons it was dropped was that director Sam Raimi hated the story they had.
This paragraph contains some spoilers for Spider-Man: No Way Home. Spider-Man: No Way Home revealed little about Tobey Maguire’s life since Spider-Man 3. It’s said that he was still with Mary Jane, but it didn’t claim they were married. It’s possible they are, it just wasn’t said. As Peter Parker arrived in Tom Holland’s world, he wore his Spider-Man suit under his clothes, so it’s known that at 40 years old, he was still crime-fighting at the drop of a hat, despite his back problems. Would a new Spider-Man 4 tell more about what Tobey Maguire’s Peter Parker went through all those years up to No Way Home? Or take place after?
Picking up shortly after Spider-Man 3 seems the most likely. That would be part of the advantage to using animation instead of live-action for this new project with Tobey Maguire. In No Way Home, it was mentioned that Mary Jane and Peter Parker were married, but that it wasn’t easy. Since Spider-Man 3 ended with the two dancing, it would seem natural for Spider-Man 4 to explore more of how they make their odd relationship work.
It’ll be interesting to see if they get Kirsten Dunst on board for an animated sequel. Or if Sam Raimi, the original filmmaker, gets involved this time around. His career has been live-action focused, but he’s currently back in the game on superhero films for Marvel with Doctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness. Maybe he’s ready to join Tobey Maguire for a Spider-Man 4 project now? We can wish Sony all the luck with making it happen.
