Thomas Haden Church first played Sandman in Spider-Man 3, a movie which ended up being Sam Raimi's final Marvel blockbuster until Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness rolled around.
Unbelievably, the sequel featured only a single mention of the web-slinger and rumours Tobey Maguire would show up as Peter Parker proved incorrect.
That was a shame so soon after the hero's return in Spider-Man: No Way Home, and it was there Church reprised his role as Flint Marko. Restrictions caused by the pandemic meant he could only do so in the recording booth, with Sandman portrayed as a fully CG creation until Spider-Man 3 archival footage was used to show his return to being a regular human after being cured.
Church has already said he's heard rumblings about Raimi making Spider-Man 4 (a sequel to Spider-Man 3, not the upcoming MCU movie picking up where No Way Home left off) and reiterated that belief in an interview with ComicBook.com.
"[With] Sandman, there's been some rumors that they might ask me to do another Spider-Man, and I'd do it tomorrow," the actor teased. "You know, they've never asked me to show up in another movie, another Marvel film."
"But, you know, I think Sam is gonna do another Spider-Man with Tobey [Maguire], and that's the one that...they had an option for me to do Spider-Man 4 when there was going to be a Spider-Man 4. They had an option on me to come back. So if it happens, that would be fantastic. I'm getting a little old."
We suggested this might be the case last time Church teased Spider-Man 4 plans, but it does indeed seem as if the actor is going by what he's read online rather than any conversations with Raimi himself.
Talking in 2022 about possible reuniting with Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst for another Spider-Man movie, Raimi said, "I've come to realize after making Doctor Strange that anything is possible, really anything in the Marvel universe, any team-ups. I love Tobey. I love Kirsten Dunst. I think all things are possible."
"I don't really have a story or a plan. I don't know if Marvel would be interested in that right now. I don't know what their thoughts are about that. I haven't really pursued that. But it sounds beautiful. Even if it wasn't a Spider-Man movie, I'd love to work with Tobey again, in a different role."
Ultimately, it will be down to Sony whether Spider-Man 4 becomes a reality. However, the likes of No Way Home and Across the Spider-Verse have made it clear there's more than one Variant of the heroes we know and love fighting the good fight out there.
With that in mind, moviegoers would surely be accepting of both Spider-Man 4 and Marvel Studios' No Way Home sequel swinging into theaters in close proximity. Being realistic, though, we'll likely see Maguire's Spidey next in Avengers: Secret Wars.