Sam Raimi Thinks About His Unmade Spider-Man 4 "All the Time"

Filmmaker Sam Raimi is revered for providing horror fans with multiple cult-classics, including the Evil Dead franchise, but he's probably best known for helping kickstart the current wave of Marvel obsession with his classic Spider-Man trilogy. Now that he's shifted to a producer role for the new film Crawl — released less than two weeks after Spider-Man: Far From Home — Raimi is reflecting on the Spidey movie that never was.

While speaking with Yahoo! about his role in helping bring Crawl to life, Raimi spoke out on his regrets for not getting to make that movie, admitting that the missed opportunity haunts him to this day.

"I think about it all the time," said Raimi. "It's hard not to, because each summer another Spider-Man film comes out! So when you have an unborn one, you can't help but think what might have been. But I try to focus on what will be, and not look into the past."

Raimi obviously used his horror sensibilities, as he explained to Yahoo! that he's a huge fan of the Universal Monsters pantheon. But he still wanted to stay true to the frenetic energy from the early days of Marvel Comics.

"I was super-influenced by those movies, and I also loved the Hammer horror films. But I was more influenced by Stan Lee's comic books and the great artists like John Romita and Jack Kirby who told stories with visuals that had a real in-your-face, over-the-top presentation. I was trying to bring that kind of imagery to life in those Spider-Man films," Raimi explained.

Years removed from that original trilogy, they remain popular among many fans and now arguments are taking place about the best one: is it Spider-Man: Far From Home or Spider-Man 2?

It's unfortunate that we'll never get Raimi's plan for Spider-Man 4, although we likely never would have gotten the latest iteration of the character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe if that were the case. Raimi's original plans for the fourth movie included using the villains Vulture and Mysterio, iconic foes who later appeared in Marvel Studios' movies.

It's a bittersweet tradeoff, but we still can't help but wonder what might have been had Raimi had the opportunity to end his Spider-Man series on a high note.

Crawl and Spider-Man: Far From Home are now playing in theaters.