Tobey Maguire almost missed his Spider-Man gig to none other than Michael Jackson who was desperate to play the character.

Credits: Wikimedia Commons / Cheep

In 2002, director Sam Raimi gave one of Marvel’s iconic superheroes a face through the casting of Tobey Maguire as the first live-action Spider-Man. Maguire’s innocent charm and endearing personality fit the bill perfectly with regard to the image of character made famous by Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko.

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Tobey Maguire in Spider-Man (image courtesy: Sony Pictures)
Among the many stars who would have shown interest to be cast in this marquee role, one of the names that would never have crossed anyone’s mind was pop legend Michael Jackson. According to reports, the singing superstar was extremely keen to be cast as Spider-Man and was even willing to go to ingenious monetary lengths to ensure that his dream came true. But it was not meant to be.

Michael Jackson Had a Grand Plan to Play Spider-Man Before Tobey Maguire

While Andrew Garfield and Tom Holland have famously portrayed Spider-Man in different Marvel projects, the character was given life through the pioneering efforts of Tobey Maguire, who became the first Spider-Man in Sam Raimi’s 2002 film. Even till today, Maguire holds a special place in fans’ hearts when it comes to the beloved superhero.
Michael Jackson wanted to play Spider-Man (image credit: ‘Beat it’ single/ Billboard Music)
Interestingly, one of his surprising competitors for the role was none other than the King of Pop Michael Jackson, who expressed keen interest to play Spider-Man. According to a report in Screen Rant, Jackson who was an ardent comic book fan, had taken it upon himself to be cast in a live-action film based on the superhero, a fact that was corroborated by Stan Lee himself.

Furthermore, Lee stated that the popstar did not want to leave any stone unturned to ensure that he bagged this part, and even went as far as to offer to buy the Marvel franchise to make his dreams a reality. His obsession with the character was further elaborated on by his nephew Taj in an interview with Popcorned Planet.

I remember being with my brothers and him talking about purchasing Marvel. He wanted to do that with Stan Lee. They had been talking and discussing that. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen, I think they were shut down from doing that.

To put it further into context, the franchise was also going through a rough period of near bankruptcy at the time and could possibly have done with a helping hand in the form of Jackson buying it out of trouble. In addition, a breakdancing Spider-Man could have been a seriously exciting prospect. But, due to unexplained reasons, this negotiation did not materialize.

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Having said that, while Jackson’s involvement could have saved the franchise at the time, it could also have done more damage considering the singer’s troubled life that was peppered with many controversial moments. As it turned out, Marvel got Maguire on board and resurrected itself to build a mighty empire.

What Is The Dilemma Between Sony and Marvel Regarding Spider-Man 4?

After Spider-Man: No Way Home left fans speculating on the fate of the character, Kevin Feige announced that a 4th film featuring Tom Holland is definitely in the works (via EW). While there is still no significant information revealed about the film, theories indicate that Holland’s Peter Parker, aka Spider-Man, will be part of a more grounded narrative.
Tom Holland as Spider-Man (image credit: Marvel)
But it seems like Feige’s vision for the film may not be what Sony Pictures has in mind. According to writer Daniel Richtman (via The Hollywood Handle), the production giant who has been the main collaborator with Marvel for the Spider-Man films, is allegedly looking at a completely different approach to the film.

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This includes making Spider-Man 4 a grand visual spectacle by possibly bringing in former alums Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield to add to the star value. This ‘cash grab’ path to success has become a hot talking point among netizens online.

Many fans were critical of Sony’s commercialization of the franchise and felt that this is not the right way to take Spider-Man forward, especially since Spider-Man: No Way Home laid the foundation for a more relatable narrative.

Disney spends money on a whole bunch of crap they need to buy the Spider-Man rights back and put an end to the Sony nonsense

— Liam (@LiamFromOrlando) January 25, 2024

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Please more grounded. Spider-Man has never needed so many multiverse films back to back to back.

— Clems (@Clementenya) January 25, 2024

Sony just want money man

— DriftyFilm (@driftyfilm) January 24, 2024

Sony trying to make up money lost on morbius and will be lost on madame webb and kraven.

— Tom Holland Oates (@Gam3rdudeJ) January 25, 2024

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@SonyPictures is what’s wrong with the CBM world right now. While everyone wants quality stories, they want to continue to milk nostalgia and/or just push content at us. This is the perfect time to ground Tom’s Spider-Man, and yet they’d rather push this in addition to a universe…

— Loveless (@LovelessEnt) January 25, 2024

Judging by online reactions, Marvel buffs could possibly be right about the direction Spider-Man 4 should take. While Spider-Man: No Way Home created huge hype with the epic collaboration of Tom Holland, Tobey Maguire, and Andrew Garfield, it could become a case of too many cooks spoiling the broth 4th time around.

This could also dilute the gravity of Peter Parker’s story going forward and undo the emotional climax of the 3rd film that set the perfect stage for the deeper aspects of the narrative to develop. All eyes will now be on Kevin Feige to see which path he takes for the film.

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