Sam Raimi's Spider-Man 4 came so close to fruition, but it was scrapped in the end, and The Amazing Spider-Man was released to reboot the franchise a few years later. But what was Sony's original plan for the film? Raimi was one of the flag-bearers for the superhero genre, with his Spider-Man trilogy setting a high bar during the early days of the comic book movie boom; his three films were all commercial successes, so it's no wonder Sony was eager to get a fourth installment made.
Spider-Man (2002) and Spider-Man 2 (2004) were critical and commercial successes that were instrumental in pushing comic book movies into the mainstream; Spider-Man 3, however, wasn't as well-received. Despite its lackluster reception, the film grossed just shy of $895 million at the worldwide box office - a higher total than both its predecessors (Spider-Man took in $821.7 million, and Spider-Man 2 made $788.9 million). A fourth film was greenlit thereafter and set to release in May 2011, with Raimi seeing it as an opportunity to bring the franchise back on track. However, it was never made, and instead, Sony reboot the character with Marc Webb's The Amazing Spider-Man in 2012.
But what did Sony have planned for Sam Raimi's unmade Spider-Man film? Picking up Tobey Maguire's Peter Parker after his experiences with the Venom symbiote in Spider-Man 3, the fourth film in the series had some fascinating casting choices and new villains that would've expanded Sony's Spider-Man universe, but ultimately, script issues and studio politics took the character in a different direction.
Sam Raimi's Spider-Man 4 Story Details
Spider-Man 4 was canned late in development, but some of Raimi's story details have since been revealed. One notable direction the film was going to take was in the introduction of several new characters, including Mysterio, Felicia Hardy, and Vulture. The latter was set to be the main antagonist of the story, played by John Malkovich, though Ben Kingsley was also in talks for Vulture. The original plan for the Spider-Man 3 involved Vulture bookending the film to set up Spider-Man 4, but the character was ultimately replaced with the Venom subplot. Spider-Man 4 would have finally seen Raimi introduce Vulture into the world.
He was set to be joined by Anne Hathaway as Felicia Hardy, who is known in the comics as Black Cat, an ally, love interest, and enemy of the eponymous wall-crawler. It's unknown how Felicia Hardy would have figured into Spider-Man 4's plot, though fans can assume she would have had a large and complicated presence in Peter Parker's life. Though Hardy did later appear in The Amazing Spider-Man 2, it was a brief appearance that didn't show Black Cat on screen either. Mysterio - played by Bruce Campbell who had comedic cameos in the trilogy up until that point - was also poised to have a role in the film, albeit a small one as he got arrested in the opening sequence. He can be seen in Spider-Man 4's unused concept art.
Aside from the key characters, little is known about Spider-Man 4. The plot would have, no doubt, seen Peter and Mary Jane reconcile their relationship after the events of the third film and likely deal with the passing of Harry Osborne. Peter's personal life was derailed in Spider-Man 3 after the symbiote took control of him, so it would have been interesting to see how the character dealt with the aftermath and picking up the pieces. There were talks of a fifth and sixth film early in the development of Spider-Man 4, so there's no doubt it would have established narrative points for future films.
Why Spider-Man 4 Didn't Happen
Considering so much of the groundwork for Spider-Man 4 was set, to the point where Hathaway and Malkovich were cast in key roles, it's somewhat baffling that the film never made it to production. In an interview with Vulture in 2013, Raimi said, "It really was the most amicable and undramatic of breakups: It was simply that we had a deadline and I couldn’t get the story to work on a level that I wanted it to work." Considering Sony had a deal where they had to release a Spider-Man film every few years or have the rights go back to Marvel, it's understandable that they wanted to see a film release sooner rather than later.
After Spider-Man 3, Raimi wanted to ensure that the follow-up was the best that it could be, but he struggled in getting there, saying, "I was very unhappy with Spider-Man 3, and I wanted to make Spider-Man 4 to end on a very high note, the best Spider-Man of them all. But I couldn’t get the script together in time, due to my own failings, and I said to Sony, 'I don’t want to make a movie that is less than great, so I think we shouldn’t make this picture. Go ahead with your reboot, which you’ve been planning anyway.'" Despite Raimi having creative control over the film, he wasn't able to figure the story out in time to meet the May 2011 window, so Spider-Man 4 didn't happen at all and The Amazing Spider-Man did.
The Amazing Spider-Man Was Meant To Launch A Franchise
Just a short few hours after Sony announced that Spider-Man 4 was getting scrapped ahead of its planned 2011 release date, they revealed that The Amazing Spider-Man would open in 2012. James Vanderbilt, who penned the Spider-Man 4 draft with Raimi, had written a reboot, which was fast-tracked into production. Andrew Garfield took on the role of Peter Parker, and the two Marc Webb-helmed projects released in 2012 and 2014 with the hopes of launching a franchise. However, neither of The Amazing Spider-Man films were particularly good; the sequel, especially, got too carried away with franchise-building and setting up sequels and spin-offs that it cracked under the pressure.
Not only was The Amazing Spider-Man 3 in the pipeline, but Sony was also setting up a Sinister Six movie and a Black Cat spin-off plus working on Alex Kurtzman's Venom. Sony had so many ideas for their Amazing Spider-Man universe, and considering how lucrative Sam Raimi's trilogy proved to be and how successful the Marvel Cinematic Universe was getting at the time, Sony wanted in on the action. They saw The Amazing Spider-Man 2 as a certain success and green-lit too many projects - more than they could handle.
However, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 underperformed commercially and critically and brought all their plans to a grinding halt. As a result, The Amazing Spider-Man franchise now only exists as two lackluster films. The only spin-off Sony ended up making from their planned slate was Venom, but it had no ties to any existing franchise, especially not Marc Webb's dilogy. Sony's Spider-Man franchise has since taken shape with Venom, Morbius, and Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, although the former two are now integrated into the MCU while the latter is receiving a sequel.
Would Spider-Man 4 Have Been Better?
While it's easy to be disappointed about the fact Sam Raimi's Spider-Man 4 never came to fruition, would it have actually been better? It's hard to say as so little is known about the discarded project. Raimi's first two films were impressive, and Spider-Man 3's failings can be ascribed to studio involvement rather than Raimi. Considering he had full control and a desire to perfect Spider-Man 4, the likelihood is that it would have been good if Raimi was allowed the freedom and time he needed to make the film he wanted. Adding Malkovich's (or Kingsley's) Vulture along with Hathaway would have only increased the chances of Spider-Man 4's success.
However, nothing is certain in filmmaking, and Sony's penchant for adding too many villains to their Spider-Man films may have troubled Raimi's film if he had remained on the project. Greenlighting Spider-Man 5 and Spider-Man 6 and trying to set up Lizard for those films showed that Sony was starting to affect Raimi's franchise, and it was, inevitably, the downfall of Marc Webb's films too. From what has been revealed about Spider-Man 4, it seems the film would have suffered from the same issue that let down Spider-Man 3 (and, subsequently, The Amazing Spider-Man 2): way too many villains. Maybe Raimi would have been able to rein in Spider-Man 4 to return the franchise to the formula that worked so well in the franchise's first two installments, and it's a shame he didn't get the chance; though perhaps Raimi can direct Spider-Man again in Doctor Strange 2.
