For better or for worse, Sam Raimi's Spider-Man 4 was shelved by Sony before the sequel could be produced. Originally, Raimi was all set to make his fourth Spidey film with Tobey Maguire returning as Peter Parker. A release date was even set for 2011, but it wasn't too far along into the sequel's planned production when everything fell apart.

While Spider-Man 4 got the axe before cameras started rolling, the film was able to have its screenplay completed and ready to go. Per Screen Rant, writer James Vanderbilt, who worked on The Amazing Spider-Man 1 & 2, says that the full script was finished. It then even got to the point where new writers came in to do some polishing to further get this script ready. Sony put the kibosh on Spider-Man 4 by this point which came as a surprise to the writers.

“Yeah so, Spider-Man 4, we had a full script sort of ready to go, and, as is sort of the case when you're a working feature writer, they brought in some other great writers to punch it up. They changed some things, and I think about a year later, they got to a point where -- and I don't know why -- but they got to a point where they decided that wasn't the road they were going to go down.”

As it turned out, negotiations fell through with Raimi, prompting Maguire to also leave the project. With the director and star both gone, Sony found it best to reboot the Spidey story from scratch. That's what led to Andrew Garfield coming in for The Amazing Spider-Man, and he was able to reprise the role in a sequel before plans changed again. Tom Holland was cast as a new version of Peter Parker when Spider-Man was reimagined for the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Related: Tobey Maguire Fans Campaign for Sam Raimi's Spider-Man 4

Spider-Man 4 Might Actually Happen After Tobey Maguire's Recent Return

tobey-maguire-spider-man-2
Sony

In Spider-Man: No Way Home, fans were able to catch back up with the Spider-Men played by Maguire and Garfield. The opening of the multiverse allowed for the previous actors to reprise their respective roles and it made for one of the biggest moments on the big screen in years. For some fans, it was a major tease, as it left them wanting to see more of the original Spideys. Could this newfound appreciation for the originals mean a new movie is on the way?

Many fans have been campaigning for Andrew Garfield to return in The Amazing Spider-Man 3. Meanwhile, others are lobbying just as hard for Sam Raimi to finally get his chance to make Spider-Man 4. Perhaps both could happen, as if it does, the fans wouldn't be complaining too much. Given the immense amounts of money currently getting hauled in by No Way Home, it would seem that the odds are higher than ever for Spider-Man 4 to finally see the light of day.

Spider-Man: No Way Home is still playing in many theaters if you want to catch Maguire's return as Peter Parker on the big screen.