I should start this by saying we’re not lacking for upcoming Spider-Man movies. Tom Holland will return as the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Peter Parker when Spider-Man: Brand New Day arrives to the 2026 movies schedule, and the animated Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse will follow in 2027. However, if a third Spider-Man movie could be added to the slate, it sounds like one of The Batman writers is game to tackle one focused on Tobey Maguire’s version of the Web-Slinger.
This all started when a fan shared that the rerelease of the Maguire-starring and Sam Raimi-directed Spider-Man movies grossed $2.25 million last weekend across nearly 1500 theaters. When that same fan tagged Mattson Tomlin, who worked on The Batman’s script with director Matt Reeves and Peter Craig, suggested that this money should go towards writing a Spider-Man 4 script, the writer simply said this on X:
Trying!
Was he joking, or is he sincerely interested in writing a fourth installment in the original Spider-Man film series? There was a time when Spider-Man 4 was in active development, but various factors led to the Tobey Maguire sequel being scrapped. That paved the way for the Amazing Spider-Man film series led by Andrew Garfield, but that film series also came to an unceremonious end after just the two movies. That’s how we got Tom Holland putting on the costume in the MCU, starting with his debut in 2016’s Captain America: Civil War, and Spider-Man: Homecoming following the year after.
While it was great to see the Maguire, Garfield and Holland’s versions of Peter Parker team up in Spider-Man: No Way Home, many fans have been hoping since then that Spider-Man 4 will be revived. Sam Raimi even shared how he’d approach the movie given how much time has passed since Spider-Man 3. We didn’t get much insight into what’s happened to Maguire’s Peter since he defeated Venom and Sandman, and lost his friend Harry Osborn, so there’s a lot that can be explored.
Whether Mattson Tomlin would work with what had originally been planned for Spider-Man 4, like including Vulture and Black Cat, or he would start from scratch is a mystery. Either way, considering how much I like The Batman and am eager to see what he and Matt Reeves have written for 2027’s The Batman: Part II, I’d welcome Tomlin putting his own spin on this shelved project. Unfortunately, with Tom Holland’s Spider-Man film series still going, the chances of this movie actually happening seem slim.
There is an alternative, though. Mattson Tomlin has experience writing comic books, like Batman: The Imposter for DC Comics, as well as BRZRKR: Fallen Empire and A Vicious Circle for Boom! Studios. If he received permission to write a Spider-Man 4 script, maybe Marvel would be willing to turn it into a comic book miniseries. DC’s done similarly in recent years with its Batman ’89 and Superman ’78 comic books, so why couldn’t the Tobey Maguire continuity live on in a different medium?
Again, at least we have Spider-Man: Brand New Day to look forward to on July 31, 2026, but if any kind of progress can be made on making Spider-Man 4 some kind of reality, I’ll be pleased Meanwhile, we’ll see Mattson Tomlin’s next DC contribution when The Batman: Part II is released on October 1, 2027.