Sam Raimi’s ‘Spider-Man 4’ Will Never Happen Because It Wouldn’t ‘Be Right’ to ‘Resurrect My Version’: ‘I Handed the Torch Off to Someone Else’

Sam Raimi, who helmed Sony’s “Spider-Man” film franchise from 2002 to 2007, recently told ScreenRant that his versions of Peter Parker and Mary Jane Watson, played by Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst, “have gone elsewhere” with little hope of returning to the big screen.

“Stan Lee’s great character — that a bullpen of writers in New York at Marvel had come up with stories for — he created the character, but so many people contributed, so many artists, that for a brief time I was handed the torch to carry on after 40 years of ‘Spider-Man’ comics,” Raimi said. “And then after my three movies, 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.”

The “Evil Dead” director explained that a new generation of superhero fans is “really into” the new “Spider-Man” era led by Tom Holland.