Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness director Sam Raimi has revealed he would only return to his original Marvel franchise, Spider-Man, if Tobey Maguire returned in the lead role.
Sam Raimi directed the original Spider-Man trilogy, which hit theaters between 2002 and 2007, long before there was a Marvel Cinematic Universe. Now, 20 years after Spider-Man was released, Raimi has returned to the world of Marvel to direct the MCU’s Doctor Strange sequel, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. The film follows on from last year’s Spider-Man: No Way Home, which used a similarly multiverse-centric plot to re-introduce characters from past Spider-Man movies – including Tobey Maguire’s Peter Parker.
While talking to the LA Times about Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Sam Raimi was asked about his thoughts on Spider-Man: No Way Home and whether he would consider returning to the franchise in its newest iteration, with Tom Holland behind Spidey’s mask. While Raimi spoke highly of No Way Home, calling it “a complete audience thrill ride” with “a great heart to it,” he had one condition for returning to the Spider-Man movies. The director praised Holland’s work in the role, but admitted he felt he could only return if Tobey Maguire came back too:
“I love Spider-Man. And I love Tom Holland in the role. [But] if I made a Spider-Man movie, it would probably have to be with Tobey or he’d break my neck.”
It looks like Marvel’s not done exploring the multiverse on the big screen yet. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness ends with a post-credits scene that suggests more adventures across realities are on the way. With both Sam Raimi and Tobey Maguire having worked with Marvel Studios lately, could one of these multiversal excursions come in the form of Spider-Man 4?
Here is the synopsis for Sam Raimi’s latest Marvel movie, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness:
The MCU unlocks the Multiverse and pushes its boundaries further than ever before. Journey into the unknown with Doctor Strange, who, with the help of mystical allies both old and new, traverses the mind-bending and dangerous alternate realities of the Multiverse to confront a mysterious new adversary.
Directed by Sam Raimi from a script written by Michael Waldron, the film stars Benedict Cumberbatch, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Elizabeth Olsen, Benedict Wong, Xochitl Gomez, with Michael Stuhlbarg, Rachel McAdams, and Patrick Stewart.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is in theaters now. Stay tuned for all the latest news surrounding the film and Spider-Man’s cinematic future, and be sure to subscribe to Heroic Hollywood’s YouTube channel for more original video content.
Source: LA Times
