Spider-Man 4 rumors about Tobey Maguire returning make no sense

Spider-Man: No Way Home was an amazing conclusion to the first Spider-Man trilogy of the MCU and a thrilling celebration of the multiverse. The crossover included brilliant cameos from Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield returning to their Peter Parker roles. Now, Marvel and Sony are developing Spider-Man 4, but given the ongoing writers’ and actors’ strikes, we don’t expect to hear anything about it soon.

While I’m excited to see what the MCU’s Peter Parker will be up to after No Way Home, I don’t want another Spider-Man 4 to steal any attention from the Tom Holland movie. Not even if Tobey Maguire and Sam Raimi come back. Some MCU spoilers follow.

Crowds loved seeing Maguire and Garfield in No Way Home, and I thought the latter stole the show. If anything, I’d love to see Garfield portray Spider-Man in a third Amazing Spider-Man movie that would be part of Sony’s Spider-Man Universe (SSU).

Also, a Raimi-made Spider-Man 4 featuring Maguire and some of the old gang might be an exciting prospect for fans looking to relive the glorious days of that original Spider-Man trilogy. After all, Sony almost did make a fourth Spider-Man movie with Maguire.

The reason we bring this up is because Thomas Haden Church (Sandman in Spider-Man 3) told ComicBook he’d love to return for Raimi’s Spider-Man 4:

There’s always been some kind of… I’ve heard rumors…that Sam Raimi was going to do another [Spider-Man movie] with Tobey [Maguire] and if that happens, I would probably campaign to maybe at least do a cameo.

As for Raimi, the director speculated about another Spider-Man movie with Maguire and Kirsten Dunst after he made Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness last year:

I love Tobey. I love Kirsten Dunst. I think all things are possible. I don’t really have a story or a plan. I don’t know if Marvel would be interested in that right now. I don’t know what their thoughts are about that. I haven’t really pursued that. But it sounds beautiful. Even if it wasn’t a Spider-Man movie, I’d love to work with Tobey again, in a different role.

The only Spider-Man 4 we need

Church lit the internet ablaze with his comments about a potential Spider-Man 4 featuring Tobey Maguire, but insiders quickly put out the fires.

Alex Perez on Twitter promptly shut down the prospect of a Spider-Man 4 movie with Tobey Maguire and Sam Raimi:

Separately, Grace Randolph said there’s no movement on Spider-Man 4 right now. She mentioned that she heard Andrew Garfield would be on board for an Amazing Spider-Man 3 as long as Feige is involved, which is also very unlikely.

Spider-Man has never been my favorite hero, and I often criticized the MCU’s Spider-Man movies. But I did like No Way Home, and I’m curious to see what Spider-Man 4 will have to offer, considering that Sony and Marvel will have to soft-reboot this franchise.

I do think that the Spider-Verse is a more exciting trilogy, with Into the Spider-Verse being the best Spider-Man movie so far. But I prefer a clear MCU connection, which only Tom Holland’s Spider-Man 4 film can deliver.

There’s no point stealing any attention from that with a different Spider-Man 4 movie.

That said, the SSU needs a Spider-Man other than the MCU’s Peter Parker. That Spidey could always be Garfield’s variant. Miles Morales would also be a stellar live-action Spidey for Sony. And there’s no reason that Sam Raimi couldn’t be involved. But Sony should build a strong SSU foundation before that. And the SSU movies haven’t exactly been great so far.

With the Hollywood strikes ongoing, it will be a while before we hear about the MCU’s Spider-Man 4 plans. And when we do, it’ll be Sony, not Marvel, announcing the sequel. After that, anything can happen. Even a Maguire-led Spider-Man 4 for the SSU.