For a while there, we nearly had a fourth Sam Raimi-directed “Spider-Man” film that would’ve seen Tobey Maguire return as Peter Parker and have John Malkovich taking on the role of the villain Vulture.
James Vanderbilt, David Lindsay-Abaire and Gary Ross all took shots at the script, while Anne Hathaway was linked as playing Felicia Hardy who later becomes the Black Cat.
Of course, the film never came to be, with news of the project being scrapped announced January 2010 – just a few months prior to its planned start date. As a result, some pre-production had gotten underway, including some of the costuming and prosthetics.
Today, comic book writer Ken Penders has posted a photo he says he took almost fifteen years ago now from a workshop on the production where friends of his were building the Vulture costume for two months before the project was scuttled. The shot allegedly showcases part of the wing design that was going to be used for Malkovich’s character.
In follow-up tweets, he says six sets of Vulture wings were going to be constructed for the film – one for the flying sequences, one to show movement up and down, one in the ‘relaxed’ position and so forth.
The Vulture character did end up making it to the screen with a very different look in Marvel Studios’ “Spider-Man: Homecoming,” with Michael Keaton taking on the role.
Before Tobey & Sam were bid adieu by Sony, work actually had begun on SPIDER-MAN 4, and I visited friends who were working on the Vulture's costume intended for actor John Malkovich. Once production shut down, all materials were turned in. I've sat on this for almost 15 years. pic.twitter.com/iY3VmzUrHI
— Ken Penders (@KenPenders) November 28, 2022
