Why We've Never Been Closer To Raimi's Spider-Man 4

Raimi's Spider-Man 4 - The Rare Nostalgic Superhero Sequel That Actually Makes Sense

The last big thing I want to caveat with all of this discussion is that I think that the overall bent towards nostalgia we've seen in movies over the last five-to-10 years is really boring. I'm on the record as a No Way Home hater, and abducting Michael Keaton's Batman for The Flash was borderline criminal. I would much rather see something new and original than dip back into the well of an IP that has gone way past the point of saturation. However, legacy sequels can and indeed have yielded tremendous results in the past, with Ryan Coogler's Creed the standout example. Even if the impulses that lead to nostalgic filmmaking are largely cynical, with the right people involved, valid and affecting cinema can still be created.

This is my way of saying that, even if it was made for the wrong reasons, a legacy Spider-Man sequel headed up by Raimi that picked up with Peter and MJ as middle-aged adults could be worthwhile. More recent Spidey stories have shown a willingness and enthusiasm from creators and audiences to engage with aged incarnations of the character, and while Raimi was smothered by the machinery of the MCU with Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, all the flourishes that were there tell us that he can still create compelling comic book cinema that is also uniquely him.

To me, that is more worthwhile than another MCU film or the vast majority of announced comic book movies, for that matter. Conceptually it may seem trite, but there's more that Raimi could accomplish with this interpretation of the character than any of the other live-action Spider-Mans we've gotten within the last decade.

Does Spider-Man 4 need to happen? No, absolutely not - Kirsten Dunst is more than right on that front. Raimi's films are 20 years old and have left an indelible imprint on the character and genre. But if it were to come together somehow - and the odds are better than they once were - then it could be so much more than just another nostalgic legacy sequel.