The Big Picture

Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 4 had the potential to be a redeeming, epic conclusion to the iconic trilogy in an unexpected way. Raimi initially did not want Venom in Spider-Man 3, but Sony insisted due to merchandise sales potential, resulting in a weaker film. Studio interference from Sony, including a mandate for 3D and a tight release date, led to Raimi’s departure and the subsequent shutdown of Spider-Man 4.

Sam Raimi’s early 2000s Spider-Man trilogy starring Tobey Maguire as the titular hero and Kirsten Dunst as iconic love interest Mary Jane will be remembered as a heroic contribution to the burgeoning genre. Mark Edlitz’s newest book Movies Go Fourth reveals many tales and what-could-have-beens about fourth films in franchises. It’s a love-letter of sorts to the fourth film: the good, the bad, the ugly, and the unmade, as told by the creative forces behind them. One of the accounts of an unmade film is especially intriguing and leaves one to wonder what could have been. It could have been redeeming. It could have been epic. It could have capped off an iconic trilogy in an unexpected, challenging way. It could have been a game-changer. It could have been Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 4.

It’s no secret that Raimi doesn’t have much love for Spider-Man 3, even citing it as “awful.” He had never intended to have Venom appear in the film, allegedly preferring for the movie to feature only two villains, Sandman and the Vulture. But Venom had a large fan base, a substantial number of which were younger. Younger fans mean the potential for more merchandise sales, so artistic integrity be damned. Sony wanted to include the character in Spider-Man 3, and ultimately forced Raimi’s hand. The result was a far weaker entry in the franchise than intended, with Raimi having to try and shoehorn in a character he knew little about and cared for even less. Nevertheless, the film made a ton of money for Sony, just shy of $900,000,000. Spider-Man 4 was a no-brainer, and Raimi, despite his issues with the third film, had already begun pre-production on his vision for the fourth.

Sam Raimi Cast John Malkovich As Vulture in ‘Spider-Man 4’
Image via Sony Pictures Releasing

For Movies Go Fourth, Edlitz interviewed renowned storyboard artist Jeffrey Henderson, who worked intimately with Raimi in pre-production for Spider-Man 4 on the behind-the-scenes story of the unmade film. Henderson was brought on by Raimi for the film, and as Henderson recounts, in one of their first meetings Raimi was explaining the story and acting out the script with action figures, a comical moment he likened to two five-year-olds sitting on the floor in the living room. Raimi was as excited about the project as was anyone related to it, including production designer Dennis Gassner, with the understanding that he would be allowed to make the movie he wanted to make.

The villain of the film was slated to be the Vulture, with Raimi approaching Ben Kingsley about the role. Ultimately, the character was cast with a name that would have been simply awesome as Vulture: John Malkovich. He would have a daughter that would play a major part in the story as well, and while that role didn’t get cast before the project was canceled, a number of prominent names were attached. Kate Beckinsale and Anne Hathaway were early contenders, with Beckinsale even doing a read-through with Tobey Maguire. Raimi, though, was leaning towards Angelina Jolie, and while there is no word on whom the finalist was, Henderson was instructed to use Jolie’s likeness on his storyboards.

Of course, there is no Raimi film without a cameo from Bruce Campbell, his long-time friend, and Spider-Man 4 had a couple of brilliant ideas in mind for the beloved actor. Arguably, the two scenes as described make the fact that the film didn’t get made just that much more painful. The first would have been as part of a montage of Spider-Man rounding up villains like the Shocker, the Prowler, the Stilt-Man, and the Rhino (which would have been a guy in a corny Rhino-bodysuit and footie pajamas, not Paul Giamatti’s weird armored battle-suit). Finally, Spider-Man would bring in Mysterio to the police station, and after taking off his fishbowl helmet he’s revealed to be Campbell, who screams, “I’ll get you, Spider-Man!” The second option was even better. Peter shows up at Aunt May’s (Rosemary Harris) for dinner. He knocks on the door, and May answers, saying, “Oh, Peter, I completely forgot about tonight.” He says, “It’s okay, Aunt May,” as he pushes himself through the door, and there’s Bruce Campbell. Movies Go Fourth explains in further detail the cringe-worthy, utterly hysterical moment that follows.

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Studio Interference From Sony Caused Raimi’s Departure on ‘Spider-Man 4’
Image via Sony

Without dropping too many spoilers from Henderson’s account, the film begins with the Vulture, a Black Ops soldier, sent to jail for crimes for which he’s been scapegoated. Meanwhile, Peter is enjoying life as Spider-Man, at ease with himself for the first time in ages. But the Vulture can’t be caged for long, escaping from jail and proving to be a terrifying menace, one that Spider-Man has to stop. The back half of the film takes twists and turns to its coda, an unexpected ending that puts a definitive cap on Raimi’s Spider-Man narrative.

A few of the early drafts included the Lizard as well, bringing Dylan Baker’s anticipated arc as Dr. Curt Connors full-circle, but it was dropped with the “too many villains in one film doesn’t equal success” lesson learned from Spider-Man 3. Sony may have learned that specific lesson, but missed the overall point: trust Raimi and keep your nose out of it. It began with Sony holding fast to a 2011 release date. Then, about halfway through the process, Sony came in and mandated the film would be in 3D, looking to jump on the trend that began anew with 2009’s Avatar, even pushing Raimi towards a meeting with James Cameron for a consult about 3D. Raimi balked, asserting that he’d never shot a frame of 3D before, and it was something that he would have had to plan on before pre-production. Raimi’s vision for the film was already going to be tight to make Sony’s release date without adding the 3D element. It was turning into another battle of artistic integrity against the studio’s whims, and Raimi was not going to fight that fight a second time. So despite millions of dollars having already been spent, sets already being built, and the cast largely in place, Raimi walked away, and Spider-Man 4 got shut down.

Some elements of Spider-Man 4 were picked up by the Spider-Man films that followed. The Vulture would go on to be the antagonist in Tom Holland’s first swing as the hero in Spider-Man: Homecoming, with a costume that hewed closely to what was envisioned for John Malkovich’s take. The Lizard would be the villain in the first entry of the rebooted series starring Andrew Garfield called The Amazing Spider-Man, which was, rather insultingly, announced before the dirt had even been piled atop Spider-Man 4’s grave. What is refreshing about the abandoned movie’s story is that, for some, the creative process still means something more than box office returns. That alone makes Spider-Man 4 an important non-entry in the franchise as a whole.