Sam Raimi’s career has taken him from the muddy swamps of The Evil Dead to the glossy soundstages of Hollywood blockbusters. He built one of the most beloved superhero trilogies of all time with Spider-Man, then returned to the comic book world with Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. But there’s one major universe he’s never been allowed to enter: DC. And according to Raimi, it’s not because he didn’t try.
The director’s newest project, the survival thriller Send Help, opens this weekend. The film stars Rachel McAdams and Dylan O’Brien as a stranded boss and employee forced to survive an uncharted island and each other. While promoting it, Raimi opened up about his failed attempts to bring DC icons to life. “I love Batman. I tried to make a Batman film. I couldn’t get the rights,” he said. “I love The Shadow. I also couldn’t get the rights to that one. But, um, Superman’s always been one of my favorites.”
Raimi went further, saying he respects how deeply fans care about these characters. “It would just take the writers to come up with an original story based on their character,” he said. “Something that’s true to the character and part of their real universe, not something that disappoints the fans.” He made clear he’s not chasing trends but a story “that had a real journey for that particular individual.”
His remarks land at an interesting moment in comic book movie history. The so-called Marvel multiverse has blown open the door for long-lost heroes and retired actors to make dramatic returns. Could that include Raimi himself returning to Spider-Man?
Fans have speculated for years about a reunion between Raimi and Tobey Maguire. The actor’s crowd-pleasing comeback as Peter Parker in Spider-Man: No Way Home gave audiences a dose of nostalgia, complete with villains from Raimi’s original trilogy, Green Goblin, Sandman, and Doc Ock. But so far, there’s no sign of another solo adventure for Maguire’s Spider-Man under Raimi’s direction. Some sources suggest Maguire could reappear in Avengers: Secret Wars, but that’s likely the extent of it, for now.
Still, Hollywood loves a comeback. Hugh Jackman is back as Wolverine. Original X-Men stars like James Marsden and Rebecca Romijn are returning for Avengers: Doomsday. So why not Tobey Maguire one more time? If Marvel Studios ever wanted to close the multiverse chapter with a real surprise, bringing back Raimi and Maguire together could be exactly what fans didn’t realize they were waiting for. Could that happen before this saga concludes? If superhero history has taught us anything, it’s to never say never.
***
English (US) · 