Few people have done more to advance the comic book movie genre than Sam Raimi, who created the blueprint for the modern superhero blockbuster with his “Spider-Man” trilogy. Raimi returns to the genre after a 15 year break next month with “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness,” but he’s still thinking about the fourth “Spider-Man” movie he never got to make.
In a new interview with Rolling Stone, Raimi opened up about his return to the Marvel universe while reminiscing about his scrapped plans for “Spider-Man 4” with Tobey Maguire. The director also kept the door open for reteaming with Maguire for a new “Spider-Man” movie if it could fit into the MCU’s plans.
“If there was a great story there, I think it’d be … my love for the characters hasn’t diminished one iota,” Raimi said. “It would be the same things that would stop me now that stopped me then: ‘Does Tobey want to do it? Is there an emotional arc for him? Is there a great conflict for this character? And is there a worthy villain that fits into the theme of the piece?’ There’s a lot of questions that would have to be answered. If those could be answered, then I’d love to.”
What does Raimi regret the most about the abandoned project? “I miss the really great cameo we had designed for Bruce Campbell,” he said.
When asked about the longtime rumor that Campbell was set to play Mysterio, Raimi did nothing to deny it. “That was one of the possibilities. We had other things in mind, too, but that was one of them,” he said, before opening up about one of the Marvel villains he still wants to work with.
“I missed Kraven the Hunter. We were going to work that character into the next ‘Spider-Man;’ I always wanted to see Kraven fight Spider-Man on the big screen. I thought that would be really unique. He’s the ultimate hunter, and Spider-Man is like the most agile trickster of the skies. And I wanted to see Peter continue forward as a human being.”
It remains to be seen whether all of the pieces will fall into place for Raimi and Maguire (and Campbell) to reteam for “Spider-Man 4.” But one thing Raimi likely knows all too well after directing “Doctor Strange” is that, in the multiverse, anything is possible.
