The Batman writer Mattson Tomlin is pushing to write Spider-Man 4, but there’s only one way the Tobey Maguire sequel could work.
Sony canceled Spider-Man 4 following the muted reception to the third film (the one with a cheesy version of Venom) as well as creative differences between the studio and director Sam Raimi. The original film would’ve seen the Wall-Crawler fight Vulture and Mysterio.
As fans already know, Sony chose to reboot the franchise with Andrew Garfield taking up the mantle as Peter Parker in The Amazing Spider-Man in 2012. Nearly a decade later, both Maguire and Garfield reprised their roles in 2021’s Spider-Man: No Way Home alongside Tom Holland in the MCU.
But there’s been plenty of talk about whether Maguire could/would ever come back for a final fourth movie, and it’s very clear that there’s only one way it would work.
Mattson Tomlin wants Peter Parker to be married with kids in Spider-Man 4
Tomlin has been pushing to write a fourth Spider-Man movie for Maguire where Peter is married and has a family while also keeping New York safe as the Web-Slinger. The writer revealed on X that Sony hasn’t said no to his ideas for a sequel — but equally, he hasn’t had a yes either.
In October, Tomlin told fans that it may never come to fruition because of the politics involved with making a Spider-Man film. Remember, he might be a Marvel property but Sony own the rights to the Spider-Man movies. Plus, this is all presuming that Maguire would also come back for a second time.
But it’s clear that this is the only way that Spider-Man 4 would ever get the greenlight, partly because it would do something different to the rest of the movies, which have all followed Peter in his teenage/college years.
In July 2025 Tomlin also explained on X that his idea for a fourth film would be “where Tobey’s Spider-Man is juggling being a husband and a father. Spider-Man as a father is where I gravitate towards given the last 8 films.”
The response from fans about the idea was overwhelmingly positive. One person replied: “This script will literally print you money,” while another added “It would be a dream.”
A lot of the comments mentioned Mayday Parker, Peter and Mary Jane’s daughter in an alternate timeline, who develops powers of her own as a teenager and becomes Spider-Girl. Her comics history is a little complicated, but she’s been involved in several of the Spider-Verse events, and even appeared as a toddler in last year’s Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse movie.
It’s also worth mentioning that Marvel has had huge success with its 2024 Ultimate Spider-Man series by Jonathan Hickman, which also introduces a version of Peter who was never bitten by the radioactive spider as a teenager.
Instead he led a normal life, married Mary Jane, and had two kids with her. He becomes a middle-aged hero as a result of some multiverse shenanigans involving an evil version of Mr. Fantastic. The storyline has been hugely successful and the first issue was reprinted three times because it kept selling out.
All this is to say that clearly movie fans and comic readers alike are desperate to see how being a father affects Spider-Man, which is why it’s the only way Spider-Man 4 could work.
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