Raimi’s update is disappointing, but in some ways unsurprising. Right now, there doesn’t appear to be a place for Spider-Man 4 with Maguire in Marvel or Sony’s future plans. A Spider-Man 4 for Holland’s Peter 1 is in development, with the young actor reportedly headlining a new trilogy of films. Sony is also continuing to work on their separate Spider-Man cinematic universe with Venom and Morbius, as projects like Kraven the Hunter and El Muerto are in development. Sony has yet to reveal the Spider-Man in that universe, but the safer bet would be on Garfield returning (unless there’s another recast). In the wake of No Way Home, there was also a massive push for Garfield’s The Amazing Spider-Man 3. With Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness set to be a box office hit, the prospect of Raimi returning to his superhero roots with Spider-Man 4 is certainly enticing. There are still plenty of stories left in that world to tell, especially since No Way Home provided only the briefest updates on Maguire’s Peter 2 (most notably, he’s back together with MJ). If the director were to come up with an idea and the cast is onboard, Sony would owe it to Raimi to at least hear the pitch. As Raimi has said in the past, anything is possible with the multiverse now open. Still, it’s worth wondering if Spider-Man 4 would undercut the emotional impact of Maguire’s celebrated No Way Home return. Perhaps it’s for the best if that is his sendoff. Multiverse of Madness was going to be directed by Derrickson until he left the project due to creative differences.
This, and the film’s horror genre goal, prompted Marvel Studios to enlist the help of Raimi, who worked with Feige on the original Spider-Man trilogy. In addition to horror comedies like the Evil Dead franchise, Raimi is best known for the first live-action Spider-Man films starring Tobey Maguire, which ended with Spider-Man 3 in 2007 after Sony abandoned plans for a Spider-Man 4.