Sam Raimi is many years removed from his time makingSpider-Manmovies, but the director admits he still often thinks about his unmadeSpider-man 4sequel. In a recent interview, Raimi was asked about his involvement in Sony’s officialSpider-Manmovies and his planned fourth installment which was never made. “I think about it all the time,” Raimi says about the canceled movie. “It’s hard not to, because each summer anotherSpider-Manfilm comes out! So when you have an unborn one, you can’t help but think what might have been. But I try to focus on what will be, and not look into the past.”
Sam Raimireleased his firstSpider-Manmovie in 2002, with Tobey Maguire as the titular web-slinger and Kirsten Dunst as Mary Jane Watson. As this was years before the creation of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the movie was self-contained with no link to any other superhero movies of the era. It was met with great success upon its release, pulling in over $821 million in worldwide ticket sales. The 2004 sequelSpider-Man 2performed almost just as well, earning over $783 million at the box office. Finally, while 2007’sSpider-Man 3didn’t perform as well critically as its predecessors, it had the best box office performance by grossing an astonishing $890 million.
Given the continued success of Raimi’sSpider-Man movies, Sony had every intention in collaborating with him once again forSpider-Man 4. This time, Raimi was reportedly looking to introduce the Lizard as one of the villains, and John Malkovich and Anne Hathaway were also rumored to be up for Vulture and the Black Cat, respectively. Unfortunately, as the years went and the script had undergone multiple rewrites, Raimi ultimately withdrew from the project. With Raimi out, Maguire and Dunst soon followed, leading to Sony’s decision to reboot the series altogether withThe Amazing Spider-Man.
Remembering his past work fondly is not unusual for Raimi. Just recently, Raimi said he wanted toreturn to the Evil Dead franchisewith an all-new movie, and was currently discussing ideas on how to do so. Of course, Raimi fans will know it was theEvil Deadseries which gave the filmmaker his start in the business. Before finding immense success withSpider-Man, Raimi was first giving life to Bruce Campbell’s horror hero Ash Williams in a trilogy of movies. While the train has most likely left the station for Sam Raimi’sSpider-Man 4, a newEvil Deadseems much more feasible, even if Campbell insists he won’t be back as Ash this time.
We’ll ultimately see what’s next for Raimi and his movie career, but the latest movie he’s produced,Crawl, is now playing in theaters. As for Spidey, we can all seeTom Holland’s version of Peter Parkerin theaters as well inSpider-Man: Far From Home. It’s an amazing addition to the series ofSpider-Man-based movies, but even so, it’s hard not to wonder just how Raimi’s planned sequel would have turned out. You can read more from Raimi’s interview over atYahoo.
