For many, Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy is a priceless piece of childhood nostalgia. Had the Studio allowed Sam Raimi‘s Spider-Man 4, things could have been so different.
Was Supposed To be Filmed Back To Back With Spider-Man 5
Despite being a critical disaster, Spider-Man 3 was still the highest earning movie of the Sam Raimi trilogy. Sony had so much confidence in Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 4 that they already allowed the Director to start working on Spider-Man 5. Each Spider-Man movie from Sam Raimi has earned the studio $700 Million and Sony knew Sam Raimi’s superhero formula worked. Shooting for Spider-Man 5 would have begun right after Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 4 wrapped filming.
Mysterio, Stilt-Man, Rhino, Shocker & Prowler Were Set To Appear
Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 4 was going to feature even more villains than Spider-Man 3. But that is not essentially a bad thing. Raimi had learned from his past mistakes. Mysterio, Shocker, Rhino, and Stilt Man were only going to make minor appearances. They would have been a good vehicle for the movie to show some superhero action, reveal some big villains from Spider-Man’s Rogues’ Gallery all the while without compromising on thinning out the plot like Spider-Man 3.
Anne Hathaway As Felicia Hardy/Black Cat
Several actresses were asked to audition for the role of Felicia Hardy aka Black Cat, a longtime Spider-Man love interest from the comic books. The actress that impressed Sam Raimi the most as the cat burglar was Anne Hathaway. She was the strongest contender for the role before Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 4 was eventually scrapped. It is rumored that word about her nailing a cat themed superhero audition got out. Christopher Nolan caught wind and then ultimately cast her as Selina Kyle aka Catwoman in 2012’s The Dark Knight Rises.
Farewell Mary Jane
If there was one thing that did not age well within the Sam Raimi trilogy, it was Kirsten Dunst’s Mary Jane Watson. After three movies, all Dunst’s character ever got to become was either a damsel in distress or an obstruction to Peter Parker’s superhero career. Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 4 had no plans of making Kirsten Dunst reprise her role as Mary Jane. The actress herself confirmed she was not intimated by the studio. So we are led to assume Peter Parker was going to have another romantic interest. Perhaps Gwen Stacy or even Felicia Hardy?
New Spidey Suit
Sam Raimi truly understood Spider-Man. His way of showing how Peter Parker evolved as a superhero and a human being was second to none. One of the subtler ways where he showed the evolution of the web-slinging superhero was in the costume design. Parker started out with a home-made makeshift red and blue suit when he descended onto the wrestling ring. In Spider-Man 3, we saw the famous black suit. Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 4 would have shown us the suit with considerable wear and tear. Peter Parker is not a professional tailor and the suit would have sported patches after years of fighting criminals and bad guys.
The Vulture Was The Primary Villain
After seeing villains like the Green Goblin, Doctor Octopus, Venom, and Sandman, the last thing fans would have wanted was to see a frail old man in a winged suit run circles around Spider-Man. But Sam Raimi had a plan. The Director is famous for his methods of rebooting a character and giving it a new, more acclaimed origin story for his movies. The Vulture was going to be a dark and menacing threat. Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 4 was going into super dark territory. And to top it off, the villain was planned to be played by either Ben Kingsley or John Malkovich.
May 2011 Release Window
The original release date planned for Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 4 was May 2011. That was four years after the official release date for Spider-Man 3. With Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight Trilogy shaking up how we viewed superhero movies, it would have been a risky gamble releasing the movie this late. Fans’ expectations on superheroes were changing but Sam Raimi was determined he could make it work. It’s a pity the studio decided against it and rebooted the entire franchise altogether. But if things had gone according to plan, we could have had the fourth Sam Raimi Spider-Man movie almost a decade ago.
Sam Raimi Wanted The Sinister Six
Every major superhero, after a few solo movies, would eventually see all the bad guys teaming up for a collective solution. The Avengers and the Justice League have their very own villainous legions to deal with. Spider-Man holds the distinction of being the only Marvel Superhero with a team of villains that is just as popular. The Sinister Six were supposed to finally make an appearance in Spider-Man 4. Sandman was already present. The Vulture was set to appear and somebody else could have taken up the identity of Doctor Octopus. The Sinister Six were also teased in The Amazing Spider-Man 2 but sadly they were turned down both the times.
