Dylan Baker Affirms Raimi’s Plan To Include a Key Spider-Man Villain in ‘Spider-Man 4′

Sam Raimi’s ‘Spider-Man’ trilogy is arguably the most significant for the web-slinger in live-action adaptations. It enjoyed considerable success, with each film grossing over $800 million worldwide. Raimi had ambitious plans for sequels, but ‘Spider-Man 3’ marked the end for both him and Tobey Maguire, who portrayed Spider-Man impeccably.

Unfortunately, ‘Spider-Man 3’ was widely considered the weakest of the franchise, a fact that Raimi regrets not being able to rectify. Despite the series concluding nearly two decades ago, it remains a topic of discussion, leading to the discovery of new insights into its production.

Dylan Baker is well-known for his role as Dr. Curt Connors, Peter Parker’s college professor, who played a crucial supporting role in ‘Spider-Man 3.’ In the film, Peter discovers the origin and nature of the symbiote. Back in 2007, director Sam Raimi showed interest in exploring Dr. Curt Connors’ transformation into the villainous character teased since ‘Spider-Man 2’ – The Lizard. Producer Grant Curtis also backed this idea. In a recent interview with ComicBookMovie, Dylan talked about the plans for his character that ultimately never materialized.

I’m afraid that Sam told me, ‘I was writing a script for number four and here came The Lizard. [He was going] all the way. They made a change because Sam felt like he would need more time and they said, ‘No, it’s got to open here’ and it wasn’t going to happen for Sam. When he left the franchise, I left the franchise! I would have loved to have continued and found what The Lizard was for my Dr. Connors. Luckily, we’ve seen some great Dr. Connors and Lizards since then.

The Lizard isn’t the only character we missed out on. By December 2009, talks were happening for John Malkovich to play Vulture and Anne Hathaway to be Felicia Hardy. However, instead of becoming Black Cat like in the comics, Hathaway’s character would have been a new superpowered figure called the Vulturess. Raimi later explained in a 2013 interview that Hathaway would’ve been Black Cat if ‘Spider-Man 4’ had been made.

Recently, there were rumors about Raimi possibly working on ‘Spider-Man 4,’ 17 years after the third movie came out. However, Raimi has denied these rumors, stating that no one has approached him about it. Got something to add? Share it in the comments below!