Sam Raimi's Spider-Man 4: The Story of a Project Cancelled in 2010

A fourth film in the works from 2007

After Spider-Man 3, released in 2007, Sony moved quickly on a sequel. In late October 2007, the studio hired James Vanderbilt, the screenwriter of Zodiac, to write Spider-Man 4, even though neither Sam Raimi, Tobey Maguire nor Kirsten Dunst had signed yet. On 5 September 2008, Deadline reported that Sony had signed Raimi and Maguire, aiming to shoot in autumn 2009 for a May 2011 release; the studio was even considering shooting a fifth film back to back to cut costs. Empire noted at the time that no contract had yet been made public.

On 12 March 2009, Marvel Studios confirmed the date of 6 May 2011. The project held onto it until its cancellation, and Thor eventually took it over. A few days later, at the SXSW festival, Raimi explained that the team was working only on the story of Spider-Man 4, that shooting two films back to back was out of the question, and that he could not imagine making a Spider-Man film without Kirsten Dunst, who had not yet signed. In June 2009, producer Todd Black insisted she would return as Mary Jane; asked about Peter and Mary Jane getting married, he said he knew of no such storyline, and he dismissed a rumour about Morbius. The verdict on the third film is debated in Spider-Man 3: a failure or misunderstood?, and the lasting legacy of the whole series in Sam Raimi's trilogy.

Four screenwriters for a single film

The script was the crux of the problem. It passed through the hands of four screenwriters in just over two years.

Meanwhile, Variety reported on 17 August 2009 that Sony had hired James Vanderbilt to write Spider-Man 5 and 6, two films with a linked storyline. In early January 2010, according to Deadline, Raimi still hated the current script. Filming, scheduled for February 2010, had already been pushed back to March, then mooted for April: an internal email from the visual effects team, dated 11 December 2009, announced that it would not start as planned. The plot holes in the trilogy itself are picked apart in the mistakes and inconsistencies in the Spider-Man films.

The Vulture, a role earmarked for John Malkovich

The main villain was to be the Vulture, Adrian Toomes. On 8 December 2009, Movieline reported that the production was courting John Malkovich for the role: these were talks, not a contract. In early January 2010, Deadline wrote that Malkovich would be the film's villain. The day before the cancellation, interviewed on the Italian programme Quelli che il calcio, the actor did not deny it: he said he was waiting for the final script, acknowledged that the film had been delayed and hoped filming would start soon. Sony never confirmed this casting.

Storyboard artist Jeffrey Henderson has said the team wanted to make the Vulture the most formidable adversary of the series, and to avoid him being seen as 'just an old guy in a silly green suit'. In late November 2022, comics writer Ken Penders published photos of an early version of the Vulture's wings, taken, he said, nearly fifteen years earlier at the home of friends who were making the costume: six sets of wings were to be built, with remote-controlled movement. He first said he had not been allowed to photograph the full body cast, as Malkovich's casting had not been finalised, before finding a photo showing the cast of the actor's body. The character, eventually brought to the screen by Michael Keaton in another universe, is profiled in our profile of the Vulture.

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The red and blue suit Maguire would have worn again has inspired several of our Spider-Man costumes and fancy dress, with styles for men as well as for kids.

Anne Hathaway, Dylan Baker, Bruce Campbell and Kraven

Anne Hathaway was to play Felicia Hardy, aka Black Cat. Sam Raimi mentioned it in March 2013, praising the actress's auditions, and she confirmed it in December 2023: she had signed on, but never put on the costume or read the script beyond her audition pages. She believes that Felicia Hardy being dropped opened the way for her to play Catwoman in The Dark Knight Rises, while admitting she does not know whether she would have been considered for Catwoman had Spider-Man 4 gone ahead. The idea that she would have played a 'Vulturess', the Vulture's daughter, is however just a 2009 rumour that was never confirmed. The comics character's story is told in the story of Black Cat and Spider-Man.

Dylan Baker, Dr Curt Connors in the two previous films, said in October 2009 that he would return to the role, though how big his part would be was unknown; his transformation into the Lizard was never confirmed, and the character is profiled in Spider-Man vs the Lizard. Bruce Campbell announced 'a major role' in September 2009, and Raimi confirmed he had promised him 'a good, meaty role', without yet knowing which one. In 2022, asked about the idea of Bruce Campbell as Mysterio, Raimi replied that it was 'one of the possibilities'. That same year, he said he had planned to bring Kraven the Hunter into the next Spider-Man film, though no actor was ever mentioned.

According to Jeffrey Henderson, who published his storyboards in June 2016, the film was to open with a montage of Spider-Man fighting second-tier villains: Mysterio, the Shocker, the Prowler, the Rhino in his old costume and possibly Stilt-Man, never intended as main antagonists. Three of them have their own profile on the blog: Mysterio, the Shocker and Rhino. Kraven, whom Raimi planned to bring into the next Spider-Man film, is profiled in Kraven the Hunter, and the whole rogues' gallery is gathered in Spider-Man's villains.

Why the film was cancelled on 11 January 2010

On 11 January 2010, Sony announced that Spider-Man 4 had been dropped: Sam Raimi and Tobey Maguire were leaving the franchise, and so was Kirsten Dunst. At the same time, the statement announced a new film for summer 2012, from a script by James Vanderbilt, and specified that Peter Parker 'goes back to school'. In it, Raimi hailed 'the experience of a lifetime', and Matt Tolmach, president of Columbia Pictures, spoke of a 'unique' collaboration and friendship and a 'bittersweet moment'. In a separate statement, Maguire said he was proud of what the team had achieved over a decade.

There is a consensus on the main reason: Raimi did not believe he could meet the release date with a script that was good enough. According to anonymous sources quoted by Deadline, he told the studio he could neither meet the set deadline nor move forward creatively. In March 2013, he described it as 'the friendliest and least dramatic of break-ups', blaming the failure on his own shortcomings. In 2022, he explained that the experience of Spider-Man 3 had been 'very painful', that he wanted to make a fourth film to redeem himself and go out on a high, and that he refused to make one that only 'sort of' worked.

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A fresh start: The Amazing Spider-Man

Amy Pascal, co-chair of Sony Pictures Entertainment, decided to reboot the series from scratch with James Vanderbilt's script, centred on a teenage Peter. In 2013, Raimi said he had been told this reboot was already being considered. On 19 January 2010, Columbia Pictures and Marvel Studios announced that Marc Webb, director of (500) Days of Summer, would direct the film, with Avi Arad and Laura Ziskin producing. The Amazing Spider-Man, starring Andrew Garfield, was released on 3 July 2012 in the US and on 4 July 2012 in France. The film is analysed in our article on The Amazing Spider-Man, and the other sequel that was never made, Marc Webb's, in why The Amazing Spider-Man 3 never happened.

The actors who succeeded Maguire are introduced in who has played Spider-Man on the big screen, and the order of all the films on our Spider-Man films page. The casts of every film are gathered on the full cast lists of every Spider-Man film.

What now? Raimi, Maguire and a possible return

The story could have ended there. In late 2014, emails revealed by the Sony hack showed that Amy Pascal had sounded out Sam Raimi about returning to the franchise, as director or producer. Above all, Tobey Maguire reprised the role of Peter Parker in Spider-Man: No Way Home, released in France on 15 December 2021, alongside Andrew Garfield and Tom Holland; Raimi did not direct it, but he said in April 2024 that he found it 'super powerful' to see Tobey again in that film. This return is told in why No Way Home changed everything.

Since then, Raimi has often been asked about it. In 2022, he said he was ready to make a Spider-Man 4 on certain conditions: that Tobey wanted to, and that the film had an emotional arc, real conflict and a villain worthy of the theme. 'I love Tobey. I love Kirsten Dunst. I think anything is possible,' he said at the time, while making clear he had 'no story and no plan'. In April 2024, he replied that he was 'not yet' working on it, that he had not discussed it with Tobey and that he doubted Marvel or Columbia would come back to him, given the success of the current films. In late January 2026, he first said it would not be 'fair' to revive his version and that he was happy to pass the torch, then, a few days later, that 'the day could come' and that he would 'love' to do it, adding that, in his view, kids would love to see Tobey again. He felt, however, that it would make no sense 'now', while another successful series of films is under way.

To bring back Tobey Maguire's Peter Parker, our Spider-Man compression T-shirts and our Spider-Man masks include styles inspired by the trilogy's suit, and our Peter Parker page tells the character's story beyond the films. For your home, our Spider-Man throws, including the black-suit throw shown above, and our pixel art canvases dress the living room in the web-slinger's colours.

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