I told you earlier this week that we don’t need two Spider-Man 4 movies coming out roughly the same time, not even if Sam Raimi were to return to make another sequel with Tobey Maguire. It would be too confusing for fans and could ruin both projects and the MCU by association. Marvel and Sony are making an untitled Spider-Man 4 with Tom Holland, which might start production later this year.
I also said that I’d love to watch a Spider-Man 4 story showing us the life of adult Tobey Maguire’s Peter Parker with Sam Raimi behind the camera. But only if that story comes several years after the release of the MCU’s Spider-Man 4.
But it’s an even better idea to have Sam Raimi return to the MCU after Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness for an even more ambitious project: Avengers: Secret Wars. The director says he’s interested, but Marvel has yet to reach out. Some spoilers might follow below.
Raimi’s comment came in response to rumors that he’s in contention for Secret Wars, the massive crossover that will end the Multiverse Saga with a big confrontation between a multiverse team of Avengers and various villains that Kang will probably lead.
Here’s what Raimi told ScreenGeek about possibly working on Secret Wars:
I love 90% of the Marvel heroes that I’ve read in the great Stan Lee Marvel Universe comic books. I would love to work with Marvel again. They haven’t reasonably asked me to. I hope they had a good experience with me. They haven’t asked me yet. I hope they do.
That’s enough to get anyone excited about Raimi’s potential return to the superhero genre and, specifically, Marvel’s MCU movies. But it’s not enough to confirm anything. If anything this could be interpreted as an invite to negotiations.
The Avengers: Secret Wars rumors
However, getting Raimi to direct Avengers 6 might not be that easy. First, it’s unclear when Marvel will start production on the sequel. Before that, it has to make Avengers 5, which is likely to be a Kang-based story according to leaks that followed the firing of John Majors.
Let’s also remember that Marvel had to delay almost every MCU movie it planned to release this year as last year’s strikes stopped work in Hollywood for months. Those delays will impact other films and TV shows that need to come out before Kang Dynasty and Secret Wars.
I’ll also point out rumors that Marvel is focusing on improving the quality of its MCU stories. This could force additional changes to the Multiverse Saga stories and more delays.
Also, remember that rumors say that Marvel is looking to replicate the Infinity-War–Endgame strategy for Kang Dynasty–Secret Wars. That is, picking the same team of writers to pen the script and the same director to helm both movies.
Marvel tasked Michael Waldron with the writing job. Waldron also worked on Loki and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. On that note, if Raimi gets the Avengers 5 and Avengers 6 job, he’d work with Waldron again. But Raimi would likely have to agree to direct both movies if the leaks are true.
Finally, a rumor says Secret Wars will be split into two parts.
If all of the above happens, the best-case scenario for Sam Raimi fans is to have him direct three Avengers movies back-to-back. Or at least two of them, if Secret Wars is a two-part adventure.
We might not have to speculate that long. Comic-Con 2024 is fast approaching. Unlike last year, when the strikes stopped Marvel from making big announcements, we might see plenty of MCU news coming out of the convention. That might include developments for Kang Dynasty, Secret Wars, and all the other MCU projects that Marvel has yet to produce.