Despite being shelved over a decade ago, Spider-Man 4 is still making headlines. Writer and illustrator Ken Penders, who has worked for both Marvel and DC Comics, took to Twitter to show off a picture he took when visiting friends who were working on production for the now-canceled movie. It revealed a detailed look at the wings for Vulture’s costume, who was to be played by John Malkovich.
John Malkovich’s Vulture costume from canceled Spider-Man 4 leaks
Penders said that he had “been meaning to post this sooner as I received permission to share it from those who were involved weeks ago.” While the picture only shows the feathery wings for Vulture, Penders added that there was also a full body mold created. Unfortunately, he says he wasn’t allowed to photograph this, as Malkovich being cast wasn’t ever fully signed off on. After then checking through his archives, he did indeed find the mold in the background of other pictures.
Spider-Man 4 was originally going to be released on May 5, 2011. Sam Raimi was slated to return to the director’s chair, and Tobey Maguire was to take on the titular role for the fourth time. Along with Vulture, Marvel villain Lizard was set to appear, played by Dylan Baker, who had starred in Spider-Man 3 as Dr. Curt Connors. Concept art from creatives working on the movie also showcased Shocker and Mysterio, which would have made the film jam-packed with familiar comic book faces.
Though it seemed as though Maguire’s time in the Spider-Man suit was up, he did make a surprise return in recent Marvel Cinematic Universe movie, Spider-Man: No Way Home. This led to Raimi making some comments about also potentially returning to the series at some point down the line, but it appeared as if he would only do so if Maguire led the movie, alongside Kirsten Dunst as MJ. He told the Los Angeles Times that “it would probably have to be with Tobey or he’d break my neck.”
In other news, the Avatar 2: The Way of Water reactions and reviews embargo seems to have leaked, and Mark Hamill’s Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special character has been revealed.