It's a Shame Sam Raimi's SPIDER-MAN 4 Never Happened, But Here's What Happened

Cut back to the year 2007...2008. About ten years ago. The horrible accident known as Spider-Man 3 had just come out. While still a financial success, reviews and fans were less than favorable to the film. Regardless, Sony Pictures still had plans for Sam Raimi to develop one more Spider-Man film, but it never happened. Many people blame the studio. Some blame the failure of Spider-Man 3 and the truth is... it's kind of all of the above.

While it's true that Spider-Man 3 was not quite a hit with fans and critics, it still grossed a huge amount of money at the box office, which means, of course, Sony planned on following it up. The real problem was Sam Raimi was exhausted, and kind of disappointed in the previous film himself. He had a plan, but his writing partner and studios wanted more villains, and also wanted Venom. All of these issues were not just things that bothered fans, but Raimi too. In 2015 Raimi had this to say in an interview with Nerdist:

"It's a movie that just didn't work very well. I tried to make it work, but I didn't really believe in all of the characters, so that couldn't be hidden from people who loved Spider-Man. If the director doesn't love something, it's wrong of them to make it when so many other people love it. I think [raising the stakes after Spider-Man 2] was the thinking going into it, and I think that's what doomed us. I should've just stuck with the characters and the relationships and progressed them to the next step and not tried to top the bar."

I think this is awesome for Raimi to not only say, but also to recognize. So many directors will participate in films they don't really believe in, and stick with it years later. Here, Raimi humbly states his mistakes with the film, and gives good advice to young directors in the making. Despite the failure of Spider-Man 3, Raimi still intended to make a fourth Spider-Man film to wrap things up and end on a good note.

They were in talks with actors to star in the film including John Malcovich and Anne Hathaway. The previous film he had wanted to use the Vulture with Ben Kingsley, which ultimately ended up not happening. As he was writing the fourth film, he was never satisfied with the product, and Sony was very determined on having the Lizard star in the film as a villain, which made things even more difficult. Raimi finally called the studio and bowed out gracefully. Of the split, he had this to say in an interview with Vulture:

"It really was the most amicable and undramatic of breakups: It was simply that we had a deadline and I couldn't get the story to work on a level that I wanted it to work. I was very unhappy with Spider-Man 3, and I wanted to make Spider-Man 4 to end ona very high note, the best Spider-Man of them all. But I couldn't get the script together in time, due to my own failings, and I said to Sony, 'I don't want to make a movie that is less than great, so I think we shouldn't make this picture. Go ahead with your reboot, which you've been planning anyway.' And Amy Pascal said, 'Thank you. Thank you for not wasting the studio's money, and I appreciate your candor.' So we left on the best of terms, both of us trying to do the best thing for fans, the good name of Spider-Man, and Sony Studios."

Sony did already have plans to reboot the series and it was less and less likely that Spider-Man 4 would even be made. That being said, Raimi did the noble thing. He was respectful to the fans. We may give him a hard time for Spider-Man 3, but the truth is that he tried his best. He wanted to make something the fans would love, and that he would love. I personally would love to see Raimi return to direct another superhero film. Maybe one that is a bit darker, matching the tone of the Evil Dead series. Maybe a Bloodstone film or a Blade film or a *gasp* Ghost Rider. Yes. I want to see this. Make it happen, Marvel. If Raimi is up to it, that is.

Thanks to Collider