Thomas Haden Church Says Return of Sandman in Spider-Man Has ‘Been Discussed’

Spider-Man 3 star Thomas Haden Church says his return as Flint Marko, the Sandman, has “been discussed.” It’s a surprising update for Marvel and Spider-Man fans that arrived as part of a recent interview with The DisInsider’s Dempsey Pillot (via Variety). During the discussion, Church commented on his time returning as the misunderstood villain in 2021’s Spider-Man: No Way Home. When sharing how he nearly had an expanded role in that film, the actor explained that there may be more Sandman yet to come.

“We had a whole story involving his daughter for No Way Home,” Church said. “And it just ended up… there was just so much going on, and Jon [Watts] and I, and Amy [Pascal] and Kevin [Feige], we all had a lot of conversations. And I would say that conversations have been had about the possibility of Sandman coming into a future iteration of it.”

Where and when we would see more Sandman is a mystery, but Church makes it clear that discussions have taken place. He even doubles down, saying that he and Jon Watts, the director of the most recent Spider-Man trilogy, have talked about Flint Marko’s return: “Yeah, that’s been discussed.”

“The conversation has happened about him coming back and maybe picking up a more fulfilling story with Flint and being, not just Sandman, but returning to human form,” he added.

While Church could potentially return to play Sandman in another Spider-Man movie led by current suit-wearer Tom Holland, many fans might hope to see him return in another Tobey Maguire-starring Spidey flick. Though no such film is officially in the works, Maguire has gone on record saying that he’d love to return in a more official capacity.

“I love these films and I love all of the different series,” Maguire said when speaking to Marvel earlier this year. “If these guys called me and said, ‘Would you show up tonight to hang out and goof around?’ or ‘Would you show up to do this movie or read a scene or do a Spider-Man thing?’ it would be a ‘yes!’”

While Maguire’s Spider-Man 4 remains a long-lost Spidey legend for now, Church’s words signal that there is still hope for those who cling to some of those characters. You can see the full interview with Church in the video below.