Sam Raimi Shuts Down Spider-Man 4 Villain Rumors 17 Years Later 

17 years after the rumors started, Sam Raimi is setting the record straight on villain casting for Spider-Man 4.

After Raimi directed three movies starring Tobey Maguire as Peter Parker/Spider-Man, development began on a fourth movie, but creative differences and delays led to the filmmaker exiting the project. Before it was announced that Sony would be rebooting the superhero in The Amazing Spider-Man with Andrew Garfield, there were rumors that Rachel McAdams was in talks to play Black Cat as a villain in Spider-Man 4. She denied the rumors shortly after they first broke.

While talking with CinemaBlend and promoting his new movie Send Help, which McAdams stars in, Raimi was asked if he knew about the rumors of her supposedly being in Spider-Man 4. He confirmed that she was never in talks for the movie and, as far as he knows, there were never any auditions for a female villain. Instead, he reiterated that he was in discussions with John Malkovich to play the Vulture, which was previously known. Check out Raimi's response below:

No. Yeah, we never had auditions for a female villain that I'm aware of. Look, I talked to John Malkovich about playing the Vulture, and he was wonderful, and we got along great. But the movie never went.

This clarification comes days after Raimi shared a definitive Spider-Man 4 update with ScreenRant, stating that it wouldn't "be right for me to go back and try and resurrect my version of this story." He added that "I handed the torch off to someone else. And I think they’ve got to keep running with the storyline and the audience that is now following the torchbearer."

While Raimi is done making films about Spider-Man, he did direct a Marvel Cinematic Universe movie in 2022. When Scott Derrickson exited Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Raimi stepped in and took over as the director. Coincidentally, McAdams was in this superhero sequel and in the previous Doctor Strange movie, where she played the role of Dr. Christine Palmer. She also voiced the character in an episode of the animated Marvel television series What If...?

Even without Raimi, fans remain hopeful that they have not seen the last of Maguire's Spider-Man. He reprised the role, as did Andrew Garfield, in 2021's Spider-Man: No Way Home. There has been speculation that one or both of these actors could join the casts of Avengers: Doomsday or Avengers: Secret Wars. The films will incorporate the multiverse and bring back the X-Men from their movies released in the early and mid 2000s.

Despite Spider-Man 4 never becoming a reality, a fourth movie about Tom Holland's MCU version of the web-slinger is happening, with Spider-Man: Brand New Day releasing in theaters on July 31, 2026. The cast also includes Jon Bernthal as Frank Castle/the Punisher, Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner/the Hulk, and Sadie Sink in an undisclosed role. It is directed by Destin Daniel Cretton, who previously helmed Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.

Director Destin Daniel Cretton

Writers Chris McKenna

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  Peter Parker / Spider-Man

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