In "Rumor Mill," we share the hard to buy rumors that don't come from reliable sources like the trades, but are still more believable (just) than what you might find on Reddit.
As the wait for Spider-Man: No Way Home, which has been rumored to feature an appearance from Tobey Maguire, and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, which has Sam Raimi in the director's chair, intensifies, the rumor mill has never been hotter, and the latest report is a potential bombshell that could reshape the entire future of the Spider-Verse.
Like always, take this with a huge grain of salt - maybe even with a whole box of it - but Giant Freakin Robot (who have had a few scoops pan out in the past) is reporting that Sony Pictures has expressed interest in bringing back both Raimi and Maguire for a potential fourth entry in their Spider-Man series.
Whether that means exploratory talks have already begun is uncertain, but according to their sources, the hope is that Raimi would return to direct a film they believe will also feature Maguire, and use it as a launching off point for Spider-Man 4. However, unlike the Holland series, this hypothetical project would be its own thing, and would only reference the greater Marvel Cinematic Universe in passing.
How the presence of an adult Spider-Man would affect the future of both Marvel Studios' and Sony's plans is also unclear, but it could open the door for one Spider-Man (Holland) in the MCU and one in the SUMC (Maguire), potentially setting the stage for showdowns with Venom (Tom Hardy), Morbius (Jared Leto) and others.
While it's not impossible to believe that Sony would want to further expand its live-action Spider-Verse (more likely with the eventual MCU debut of Miles Morales), this rumor seems increasingly hard to digest, especially given the way both Raimi and Maguire parted ways with Sony when the studio foolishly opted to reboot the franchise instead of carrying on with Raimi's vision after Spider-Man 3.
Plus, we still don't have any official confirmation that Maguire will actually appear in either No Way Home or Multiverse of Madness, so this rumor very well could be based on nothing more than wishful thinking.