But of course, most others did not receive "Spider-Man 3" as the mind-blowing thrill ride my younger self thought it was. Yet "Spider-Man 4" had still been greenlit ... until, in 2010, it was announced Maguire and director Sam Raimi had walked away. The cancellation of "Spider-Man 4" was one of the first pieces of movie news I heard about and processed as it happened. Outside of animation with the "Spider-Verse" movies, Spidey has been in search of a strong creative vision to equal the one Raimi brought. As we approach the 20th anniversary of "Spider-Man 3," the (live-action) "Spider-Man" movies have yet to reach the heights Raimi first established, and the franchise feels stained by Sony's reactionary handling of its post-Raimi path.