For years, concept art from Spider-Man 4 has circulated online, seemingly confirming plans for Bruce Campbell to make a cameo as Mysterio. He was set to be marched through a police station by the web-slinger, meaning Quentin Beck would likely have been treated as a punchline rather than a serious threat to Spidey.
Promoting Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness in 2022, Sam Raimi confirmed that Campbell playing Mysterio was something he considered for his Spider-Man 3 sequel.
"I miss the really great cameo we had designed for Bruce Campbell," the filmmaker recalled at the time. "That was one of the possibilities. We had other things in mind, too, but that was one of them. And I missed Kraven the Hunter."
However, in an interview with The Wrap, Campbell contradicted Raimi by revealing that it's something they never discussed. In fact, he seemed to find the notion of playing Mysterio ridiculous.
"It's such a crock of shit, the whole thing," the Evil Dead icon says in the video below. "Because it's a storyboard that got out. 'Hey, that looks like Bruce Campbell. Oh my God, he's going to be Mysterio!'"
"Sam and I have never had a single conversation about Mysterio," Campbell continued before imitating Raimi. "'Hey buddy, I got a new bad guy. What do you say?' No. Plus, he never made the movie. He did not do part four. Probably wisely."
Spider-Man 4 was supposed to be released in 2011, and would have seen filmmaker Sam Raimi step behind the camera to pit Peter Parker against The Vulture.
Ultimately, Raimi and Sony Pictures parted ways over creative differences, and the franchise was rebooted in 2012 with The Amazing Spider-Man. A sequel followed two years later, but the third and fourth movies—along with interconnected Sinister Six and Venom spin-offs—were scrapped by Sony when it partnered with Marvel Studios.
With that, Spidey was rebooted again, this time with Tom Holland taking over the role in 2016's Captain America: Civil War.
Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield both returned as their respective versions of Peter in Spider-Man: No Way Home in 2021, leading to calls from fans for Spider-Man 4 and The Amazing Spider-Man 3. For whatever reason, Sony hasn't capitalised on that, despite the Multiverse making it possible to tell alternate reality stories.
Do you think Campbell would have been a good fit for Mysterio after tormenting Peter Parker as a ring announcer, usher, and waiter in the first three Spider-Man movies?