J.K. Simmons recently confirmed he would "absolutely" return for Spider-Man 4, in the event that Sony greenlit a follow-up to Sam Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy.
Simmons, who portrayed J. Jonah Jameson in all three of Raimi's Spider-Man movies, confirmed he would sign on for another sequel in a recent episode of YouTube series Inside of You with Michael Rosenbaum. "Absolutely. I would do anything that Sam Raimi approached me with," he said. "I mean, almost anything." Raimi originally intended to direct a fourth Spider-Man movie following the release of Spider-Man 3 in 2007, however, he ultimately bowed out of the project and Sony chose to reboot the franchise. Simmons later portrayed a different incarnation of Jameson in Spider-Man: Far From Home and Spider-Man: No Way Home, both of which take place in a universe separate from Raimi's films.
Details of Raimi's vision for Spider-Man 4 have slowly become public in the years since Sony scrapped the production. This includes confirmation that the Vulture would have served as the sequel's primary antagonist, with two-time Oscar nominee John Malkovich reportedly in line for the part. A behind-the-scenes photo of one of the Vulture's mechanical wings surfaced online in October 2022, giving fans a small taste of how Raimi planned to realize the comic book baddie's look in live-action. The Vulture's wing was archived by Sony along with Spider-Man 4's other pre-production materials once the sequel was officially axed.
Storyboard Artist Talks Raimi's Spider-Man 4
Raimi meant to include more than one villain in Spider-Man 4, though. According to storyboard artist Jeffrey Henderson, the film would've kicked off with Tobey Maguire's webslinger going head-to-head with a number of evildoers culled from his colorful rogues' gallery. "We were going to open the movie with this montage of all the villains we knew that [director] Sam [Raimi] would never be able to use in Spider-Man movies… because Peter [Parker], now that MJ has gone, he has finally made peace, and he loves being Spider-Man. He's actually enjoying it. So we were going to try to do the Shocker, Mysterio, the Stilt Man, and that kind of stuff," Henderson said.
Henderson's comments indirectly touch on another key plot point Raimi meant to include in Spider-Man 4: the dissolution of Peter Parker and Mary-Jane Watson's relationship. It's unclear if Raimi intended to reunite the couple by the end of his unmade Spider-Man sequel, however, MJ actor Kirsten Dunst was expected to feature in the film in some capacity.
Source: Inside of You with Michael Rosenbaum, via YouTube