*Warning*: This post contains minor spoilers for Spider-Man: No Way Home! If you haven’t seen the movie yet and don’t want anything spoiled, then I would advise to watch the movie first before reading through what I’m about to say. Nothing major but you have been warned!
It’s been about a month since Spider-Man: No Way Home has been released in theaters and has turned out to be one, giant success! Not just commercially (raking around $1.631 billion at the time of this post) but also critically! It’s a movie that had manages to please both the movie going audience along with the Spider-Man fanbase! There is hope for humanity after all!
It offers Tom Holland as his absolute best as Peter Parker/Spider-Man, giving the character more depth and intrigue than he did in his previous two solo movies, finally utilizing the potential of this version of Spider-Man that had previously shown glimpses of it in his extended cameo in Captain America: Civil War and his side roles in the last two Avengers movies. Unlike Homecoming and Far From Home before it, it finally gave you an indication as to what this Spider-Man actually IS rather than what he is NOT! I have legit interest to see where they go with this version of the character next and am anxious to see what Marvel has cooking up for the web slinger in his near future!
However, the two big highlights of the entire film that everyone has been talking about were the returns of *minor spoiler warning* Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield as their own respective versions of Spider-Man! (Again, did you HONESTLY think they were bringing back the villains from their own movies but not also bring back themselves here?! Come on!)
No Way Home gave both versions exactly what everybody hope they would get when it was first rumored that they were likely to be reprising their roles! It brought back their own versions of Spider-Man that still stand out as their own, ties nicely into the MCU’s version of Spider-Man respectively and his overall arc in the film, offered plenty of funny banter and dialogue exchanges, exciting action scenes with their all of the villains, and wrapped up their stories arcs in a much more meaningful way than perhaps their own individual franchises did. There was a lot to appreciate with the way both versions were handled in this movie.
So much appreciation as a matter of fact that it has fans demanding for a continuation/conclusion of both of their individual story arcs in the forms of Spider-Man 4 and The Amazing Spider-Man 3. While I do understand wanting to see more of them as Spider-Man and wanting a second chance to end their own franchises on a higher note than their previous finales did, I do believe that it is for the best that none of this happens.
And this isn’t just talking about my overall personal opinions on both version of Spider-Man (I’m a lover of the original Sam Raimi trilogy but could care less for both of Marc Webb’s films!) but more of what is honestly best for Spider-Man and his future!
Firstly, there’s a main reason why Spider-Man 4 and The Amazing Spider-Man 3 did not get made in the first place! It wasn’t because neither film made money (Spider-Man 3 made nearly 895 million globally and Amazing Spider-Man 2 made 709 million) but because what happened on the creative side, the original ideas for these intended sequels were just awful and would have caused even more damage to their own respected franchises!
With Spider-Man 4, the big reason that it was cancelled just right before it was suppose to start production in January 2010 was because Sam Raimi was not satisfy with any script written for it and felt he would not be able to match the deadline of May 2011 that he agreed to with Sony. Raimi has gone on record multiple times that he was not happy with the way Spider-Man 3 turned out and wanted to redeem himself with the 4th installment, making it the best Spider-Man film he’s made yet! But, he could never reach those personal goals in the development process. Raimi has stated that Spider-Man 4 went through at least four different script iterations and despite bringing in different screenwriters who did multiple revisions, he didn’t like a single finished script for it! It was because of that, Sony decided to part ways with Raimi and move on to reboot the brand with The Amazing Spider-Man, something Sony had already planned for even before this project was cancelled.
When looking at some of the original ideas for Spider-Man 4 (I’ll provide some leaks for it at the end of the post along with the ones for Amazing Spider-Man 3), it’s not hard to see why Raimi had such a hard time coming up with a script he was happy with or was at least cohesive. Most of these ideas seem rather bizarre and would have ended the franchise on a rather dour, depressing note, even more so than 3. From the Vulture taking over the Daily Bugle and revealing himself to be MJ’s father (Yes, really!) to Peter cheating on MJ behind her back with Felicia Hardy and destroying their relationship (some superhero), to Peter outright quitting being Spider-Man at the end (making Spider-Man 2 feel worthless), this movie just seemed like it would be a recipe for disaster and would definitely not be the return to form that the franchise needed in order to continue after the polarizing response to Spider-Man 3.
As for Amazing Spider-Man 3, there’s hasn’t been a whole lot released about what the movie would have been like. However, there is one story element revealed that is so awful that it in of itself shows that this movie would have failed big time (and that’s not even bringing up the quality of the previous two Amazing Spider-Man movies). According to a 2015 interview from Denis Leary (the actor of Captain Stacy) along with other sources, ASM3 would have had Peter using his own blood to be able to clone other people in order to bring new life into those that have passed away. Because Peter was still feeling his fair share of grief over the death of his former girlfriend, Gwen, he would have attempt to clone her and her father in the hopes of healing his own personal wounds. That is stupid beyond measures!
That idea in of itself showcases how ill-fated and poorly thought out the whole Amazing Spider-Man franchise was! Along with the numerous sequels and spin-offs that were already announced at the time before a single script from them had been written, Sony had hit an absolute brick wall with this series and didn’t know what to but to go to Marvel for help!
But the reasons both of these intended sequels should never be able to see the light of day is not just because of the original premises and ideas sounding rather poor, it’s because we kind of already got both of those movies in the form of No Way Home.
In No Way Home, it’s able to tie up the loose story threads that fans had been hoping for along with giving both version a fitting end to their own arcs.
By the end, Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man had fully formed into his own identity of Spider-Man the way he wants, had worked out his relationship with MJ, and was able to see the humanity in his villains (which was suppose to be a key theme in 3) along with help giving them the redemptions that he had failed to give them in his own universe. That nice, little scene with Doc Ock just showcases how far his version of Spider-Man has come along with the people that grew up with it.
As with Andrew Garfield’s Spider-Man, he was able to share the pain and grieve he had to go through with not being able to save Gwen with the other respected Spider-Men and showcases how even though being Spider-Man is hard, it’s something that he has to keep doing because it’s his responsibility. It dealt with the fallout of that tragic death in a much, more meaningful way than just having him clone her (seriously what were they thinking?) along with help showing the MCU’s Spider-Man the consequences of being a hero and how being Spider-Man will mean that those you love can pay the price. And also him saving Zendaya’s MJ from certain death was a nice touch as well.
Those were all more than satisfying ways to wrap up their story arcs! Why ruining that?
Aren’t we at the point where we should just settle in and focus on the current MCU Spider-Man we have now as the ending of the film would suggest? Shouldn’t we move on to tell exciting, new stories with the rose gallery of Spider-Man characters and villains we still have yet to see on the big screen? Can’t we allow Tom Holland to truly shine as his own, unique Spider-Man without the baggage from the Avengers or the previous Spider-Man incarnations to bring him down? Isn’t it time to move on from Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield?
I don’t want to give the indication that I dislike Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield as Spider-Man. Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man has always remained a special place in my heart since childhood and while I don’t care for either Amazing Spider-Man movie, I do know that Andrew Garfield is a gifted actor and he has shown when given the right material and that one big moment comes, he can really nail the Spider-Man persona. Both versions has their own pros and cons along with their own respected fanbases but they’ve have their time and it’s time to let let Tom Holland and other future Spider-Man incarnations have theirs!
That’s not to say I’m totally against the idea of Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield returning at all as Spider-Man! If it’s for a voice role for a future Spider-Man game or Spider-Verse movie, then I would be totally down with that! But let’s not make the mistake of trying to breath life into two long, forgotten projects that would most certainly had failed if the original ideas for both of them are anything to go by.
So, what do you all think about the possibility of there being a Spider-Man 4 or Amazing Spider-Man 3? Do you agree with me that they shouldn’t be made or disagree and feel they should happen? Let me know in the comments below!
Also, as I mentioned earlier, here are some of the links to certain articles, fan sites, and leaked scripts/treatments that show what the intended ideas for these two Spider-Man movies were!
Spider-Man 4:
Amazing Spider-Man 3:
Adam's Blog 
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