If Spider-Man: No Way Home taught us anything, it’s that Tobey Maguire still has what it takes to be Spider-Man, and ever since that film landed there’s been a persistent rumor going around that Sam Raimi could return for Spider-Man 4 with Tobey Maguire starring. Well, Thomas Haden Church, who starred as Sandman in Spider-Man 3, has heard those rumors, and he’s stirring the pot up again saying he’d love to come back (again) for it.
The actor told ComicBook (via Deadline), “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.”
Obviously, No Way Home set up a pretty easy in for Raimi to tell a new, older Spidey story that could finally give Church’s Sandman his due. The actor has been wasted both times he’s shown up, playing second fiddle to a crappy Venom in Spider-Man 3 and then being completely CGI in No Way Home. Both Church and the Sandman character deserve more than that, and Raimi is an avid fan of the character so it would be great to see them return.
Of course, all of this is just wild speculation based more on fan wishes and idle chatter than anything concrete. Sam Raimi himself has spoken on making a Spider-Man 4 with Tobey Maguire, saying that “anything is possible, really anything in the Marvel universe, any team-ups.” He continued, “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.”
Maguire is also interested in returning, especially after the success of his “surprise” return in No Way Home. The actor said, “I love these films and I love all of the different series. If these guys called me and said, ‘Would you show up tonight to hang out and goof around?’ or ‘Would you show up to do this movie or read a scene or do a Spider-Man thing?’, it would be a ‘yes!’ Because why wouldn’t I want to do that?”
So is this happening or ever going to happen? Probably not, considering Marvel’s pullback and recent box office returns. Does everyone involved want it to happen anyway? Yes.
