Storyboards for defunct Spider-Man 4 show off Vulture action, Mysterio cameo

The third cinematic version of Spider-Man just made his debut in Captain America: Civil War, this after the upheaval surrounding the reboot of the franchise with The Amazing Spider-Man series. After all of that, the original Sam Raimi Spider-Man films seem so far away, despite the third film only being nine years old. As we’ve recounted before, there were still plans after the less-than-stellar Spider-Man 3 for the series to continue with Spider-Man 4 (which you can read about in further detail by clicking here), and now we have an even better idea of what might have been.

We know the film would have seen John Malkovich taking on the villain role of The Vulture and now thanks to storyboard artist Jeffrey Henderson, we have an idea of how the character would have appeared on the big screen.

“I hope that one day I can, (or somebody can), finally tell the whole story of Sam Raimi’s ‘abandoned’ fourth Spidey movie,” Henderson writes on his website, where he revealed storyboards for Spider-Man 4. “Until then, out of respect for Sam, (and fear that he’d send Bruce Campbell to come after me with a chainsaw…), and everyone that worked on, or contributed to, this project, let me just say this: It would’ve been one absolutely kick ass movie. Seriously. We were working on some crazy- cool stuff, because everyone, from top to bottom, felt that Spidey 3 was a bit of a ‘missed opportunity’, and we all really wanted to help Sam take SM4 to another level so he could end the series on a high note.’

“Unfortunately, it wasn’t meant to be, but I did get to spend a few years working on “OZ, The Great and Powerful”, which was just amazing…but that’s a whole ‘nother post. Anyway, Sam is almost superstitious about releasing any storyboards for anything, (go back and look at every “The Art Of” book for every movie he’s ever done… you know what’s not gonna be there? Anywhere? That’s right: storyboards), I don’t really know why- but that’s just how he feels about it. So, having said that, here are some ‘boards I can share, (without pissing Sam off), from the mysterious Spider-Man 4.”

You can check out the storyboards in the gallery below. One interesting thing to point out is the reveal of Bruce Campbell’s cameo, where he would have been seen as the villain Mysterio. Speaking with io9, Henderson revealed the film would have started with a montage of Spider-Man fighting against “C and D-list villains” that never would have been primary antagonists in the film, including Mysterio, the Shocker, the Prowler, the “old school-onesie-wearing version” of the Rhino, and potentially Stilt-Man.

It’s also interesting that current rumors suggest Vulture will be the villain of the upcoming Spider-Man: Homecoming as played by Michael Keaton, though we’ll have to wait and see about that.

You can check out Henderson’s website, where he also houses concept art for The Dark Knight, The Transformers Ride, 30 Days of Night, and many more by clicking here. Henderson also has co-directed a Star Wars fan film that’s a finalist StarWars.com’s official fan film contest called The Sable Corsair, which you can see by clicking here!