So, Spider-Man: No Way Home was a giant hit, and the return of Tobey McGuire’s Peter Parker is a big reason why. It’s not just for the fact that Tobey McGuire was the first man to play the comic book hero in live-action form, but because the first incarnation of the Marvel series was pretty good. Till this day, Spider-Man 2 is still considered one of the best superhero movies ever, and though Spider-Man 3 was a huge mess that featured an infamous and goofy dance from Emo Peter Parker, that fault shouldn’t fully be blamed on Sam Raimi since the studio interfered with that feature. Originally, Sam Raimi was set to make a fourth Spider-Man feature, but the veteran filmmaker opted to walk away from the franchise and superhero films altogether.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse Madness is Raimi’s first foray back into the superhero world since Spider-Man 3, and the sequel has built tons of excitement ahead of its release. With Raimi back in the superhero fold and McGuire’s return to the Spidey role, the director was questioned on whether he would be open to doing a Spider-Man 4, and his answer was somewhat surprising given his exit from the franchise, “I’ve come to realize after making Doctor Strange that anything is possible, really anything in the Marvel universe, any team-ups, ” he said in his interview with Fandango. “I love Tobey. I love Kirsten Dunst. I think all things are possible.” Raimi goes on to say that he doesn’t have a particular story in mind but the idea “sounds beautiful”. So that brings up the question, is making a Spider-Man 4 with Tobey McGuire a good idea?
First, let’s all take a deep breath. Get some fresh air. Anything that will calm your nerves. Because I don’t think a Spider-Man 4 is a good idea. Now before you toss your computer out the window, this isn’t me saying that a Spider-Man 4 would be a bad movie. In fact, if one was announced today then I would be one of the first people to purchase a ticket! There are plenty of avenues to explore with Tobey McGuire’s version. He could turn out to be old man Logan, a broken shell of his former self. Or this could be a wiser and more mature version of Spider-Man. Gone are the sarcastic quips and immaturity, but a more complex world with intriguing characters. Perhaps it could be the beginning of Spider-Man’s villain origin story? There’s a lot of directions to play with here. With the ten-year age gap, characters grow and so does the world, so returning to one of the better incarnations of the Spider-Man would likely result in so much fun.
The problem is that it’s time to move on from the story of Peter Parker. The character has dominated the live-action spectrum for over 20 years and there’s so many stories you can tell with the same character. Granted, I just listed several fresh arcs that a mature Peter Parker can follow, but returning to Peter Parker will once again hold the franchise back and keep the big world of Spider-Man closed off. There’s over 20 different versions of Spider-Man: from Spider-Monkey, Miles Morales, Spider-Gwen, Spider-Wolf, and Miguel O’Hara. There’s even a pig called Spider-Ham! It’s time to venture into different avenues of the comic book world and expose the different characters of the Spider-Man universe. If Sony opted to go back to Tobey McGuire’s version, then there’s little chance that they would run two live-action Spider-Mans at the same time. In fact, it would be a mistake if they did because it would simply be overkill.
It was great seeing Tobey McGuire back in the Spidey suit in No Way Home as it brought back fond memories of the series back in the early 2000s. Him describing his happy life with Mary Jane sounds like the perfect ending to his saga. Every story needs a beginning, middle, and end. Obviously, I’m not stating anything new, but Tobey McGuire’s Spider-Man has ridden off to the sunset, why not let his character lead a happy life? Again, I would be down for Spider-Man 4, but it’s time for the franchise to move forward, not continue to go back in time. Who’s to say that Tobey can’t star in the next Spider-Man movie? Perhaps he’s in retirement mode and guides the next man, woman, or thing to being the masked avenger who fights crime in the streets? Either way, the chapter of Spider-Man 4 should be closed for a foreseeable future. The story of Peter Parker doesn’t need another reboot.
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