Raimi directed the first trilogy of Spider-Man films, with his last movie being released a year before the first Iron Man kicked off the MCU, and though Spider-Man 3 lacked the positive reception of the other two, his work is a quintessential chapter in the superhero genre that dominates today’s industry. It’s no surprise then that Spider-Man: No Way Home brings back the Green Goblin, Doctor Octopus, and J. Jonah Jameson, who represent some beloved aspects of Raimi’s movies.

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In a new interview from Variety, Raimi described his experience watching Spider-Man: No Way Home, saying he had a ton of fun watching the movie. “The audience I was with went crazy. It was delightful to watch Alfred play his role, and Willem Dafoe, just seeing these guys take it to the next level,” he said. The director also praised his Spider-Man, Tobey Maguire, saying he was as awesome as he always was, while also calling the movie as a whole “refreshing.”

Raimi has directed two movies since Spider-Man 3 came out, though he’s remained fairly more active as a producer and actor, and 2022 will see his return to Marvel when his Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness lands in theaters this May. As part of the interview, Raimi also addressed rumors of lengthy re-shoots for his Doctor Strange sequel, mostly stating he really doesn’t have an answer to them since the movie has just been cut. Furthermore, he doesn’t count out making further improvements because the team at Marvel “won’t stop. They’ll keep pushing it until it’s as close to being great as it could.”

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is believed to be the MCU movie most closely tied to Spider-Man: No Way Home, so it’s really no surprise the former’s trailer was released as part of the latter’s post-credits material. That said, Doctor Strange 2 rumors are all over the place and besides the confirmed appearance of Shuma-Gorath as one of the main villains, little else has been confirmed as fact.

Andrew Garfield was notoriously secretive about his and Maguire’s roles in Spider-Man: No Way Home, so Raimi may have been among the few people who were in the know about Marvel Studios’ plans. However, Raimi is probably aware that what worked for Spider-Man won’t work for the entire MCU, so don’t expect him to copy Jon Watts in any way.

Spider-Man: No Way Home is now playing in theaters.

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Source: Variety