Spider-Man, the 2002 movie starring Tobey Maguire, celebrates its twentieth anniversary today. The anniversary comes just before Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness, Spider-Man director Sam Raimi’s return to the MCU, debuts in theaters.
Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man was released on May 3, 2022, though Marvel Comics had the concept of a live-action Spider-Man movie in development in the 80s. Produced by Sony Pictures, the film follows the now-familiar storyline of Peter Parker, played by Tobey Maguire, a nerdy high school student who gets bitten by a radioactive spider and develops spider-themed superpowers. Peter uses his newfound powers to defeat New York from enemies like the Green Goblin, aka Norman Osborn (William Dafoe). Additional cast members include Kirsten Durst (Fargo) as Mary Jane Watson, Peter’s love interest, as well as James Franco as Harry Osborn, Norman’s son, Cliff Robertson (Falcon Down) as Uncle Ben, Rosemary Harris (Sunshine) as Aunt May, and J. K. Simmons (Gravity Falls) as J. Jonah Jameson.
How Sam Raimi Made Spider-Man Different
Along with the original Spider-Man, Sam Raimi also directed the movie’s two sequels, Spider-Man 2 (2002) and Spider-Man 3 (2007). Maguire, Durst, Franco, Simmons, and Harris all held regular roles in the movie series alongside new faces like Alfred Molina as Dr. Otto Octavius and Topher Grace as Eddie Brock, aka Venom. According to the Guardian, it was Sam Raimi’s decision to cast Tobey Maguire and his “sweet, strange boy-man qualities” as Peter Parker that saved the Spider-Man series from failure and revolutionized the superhero film industry. Tobey Maguire has most recently appeared in Spider-Man: No Way Home as one of three Peter Parkers, but according to MovieWeb, fans of the original Spider-Man have taken to Twitter to celebrate its anniversary and congratulate Sam Raimi on his continued directorial career with Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness.
