The Two Marvel Villains Sam Raimi Wanted To Put In Spider-Man 4

Sam Raimi brought superhero films to the modern millennium with the 2002 film "Spider-Man." The film, which stars Tobey Maguire as Peter Parker (better known as the titular web-slinging alter ego), spawned two more sequels, the last of which was 2007's "Spider-Man 3." Kirsten Dunst, James Franco, and J.K. Simmons also starred in all three films. They play Peter's girlfriend Mary Jane Watson, Harry Osborn (aka New Goblin), and Daily Bugle editor-in-chief J. Jonah Jameson, respectively.

Despite the success of his "Spider-Man" trilogy (a $2.5 billion worldwide trilogy, per The Numbers, no less), Raimi has not made a superhero film since. As such, fans were overjoyed by the news in early 2020 that he would be stepping into the director's chair for the MCU sequel "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness," replacing Scott Derrickson, who directed the first entry, 2016's "Doctor Strange" (via Variety).

Raimi, however, was not entirely done with his "Spider-Man" franchise and has, over the years, spoken about the decisions he would have incorporated into the unmade fourth entry in the series, including having John Malkovich play Adrian Toomes. If that name rings a bell, it's because you also know him as The Vulture, the character Michael Keaton eventually took on in "Spider-Man: Homecoming." Another casting choice was Anne Hathaway as the morally ambiguous thief Black Cat, also known as Felicia Hardy. To wit, Hathaway went on to play the morally ambiguous thief Catwoman in Christopher Nolan's 2012 film "The Dark Knight Rises."

In a recent interview, Raimi revisited the topic of his "Spider-Man" franchise once again, revealing two key Spider-Man antagonists he'd hoped to have in the film.

In an April 30 interview with Rolling Stone, Sam Raimi spoke about working on the "Spider-Man" franchise and what elements could have appeared in a fourth movie. He first confirmed that frequent collaborator Bruce Campbell was likely to have played famous Marvel comics villain Mysterio, saying, "I miss the really great cameo we had designed for [Campbell]," subsequently adding that Mysterio was one of the options.

However, the "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness" director added that Marvel character Kraven The Hunter would have made the jump to the big screen with his fourth film. "I missed Kraven the Hunter. We were going to work that character into the next Spider-Man; I always wanted to see Kraven fight Spider-Man on the big screen," Raimi said, elaborating with, "I thought that would be really unique. He's the ultimate hunter, and Spider-Man is like the most agile trickster of the skies."

Mysterio also ended up making it into a Spider-Man film — just not one directed by Raimi. Instead, he appeared in 2019's "Spider-Man: Far From Home," with Jake Gyllenhaal playing the character. Gyllenhaal was once also in the conversation to replace Tobey Maguire in Raimi's trilogy (per Yahoo). Kraven the Hunter, meanwhile, is poised to make his big-screen debut soon. Aaron Taylor-Johnson set to take on the lead role, with director J.C. Chandor taking the reins and a supporting cast that includes Christopher Abbott, Fred Hechinger, and Ariana DeBose.