Spider-Man 4 SCRAPPED...And Rebooted? That Makes Me MAD!
on Monday, January 11, 2010
Mike Fleming and I have just confirmed that Sony Pictures decided today to reboot the Spider-Man franchise after franchise director Sam Raimi pulled out of Spider-Man 4 because he felt he couldn't make its summer release date and keep the film's creative integrity. This means that Raimi and the cast including star Tobey Maguire are out. There will be no Spider-Man 4. Instead, Mike Fleming is told, the studio will focus on a reboot script by Jamie Vanderbilt with a new director and a new cast. All this took place today at meeting on the lot today. An official Sony Pictures news release about it is expected. My sources tell me that Raimi told Sony Pictures: "I can't make your date. I can't go forward creatively."
This is frustrating in so many ways. Spider-Man 4 was originally set to be released on May 5, 2011, and if Sony believed that anyone could shoot, edit, and finish special effects on a $200+ million superhero movie with any shred of quality, then they were setting an impossible standard. What's more frustrating to me, though, is the ridiculous need to reboot the entire franchise! The last Spider-Man movie isn't even three years old, yet, and audiences really connected with the original cast. Sure, Spider-Man 3 was a big disappointment, but Spider-Man and Spider-Man 2 showed us how great these films could be, I had faith that Raimi and the rest of the cast could turn it around! Really, I just don't understand why Sony is so insistent that they must restart the entire Spider-Man story. It makes them look ashamed of the previous films, and if the issue was really all about the release date, then I don't understand how this is an effective solution, for it will only delay a new Spider-Man even longer. My guess is that the problem was that Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, and Sam Raimi were asking for too much money. Whether or not that was even the case, though, why not just recast them and continue the story? It's not like we audiences are too stupid to understand who each of the characters are. It's a strategy has worked for the Bond franchise for years!
Honestly, I love Spidey. I have all the movies, tons of the old comics, a Spider-Man poster on my wall, a an old Spider-Man blanket under my bed. Raimi's films exuded love for the character of Peter Parker and a huge respect of Stan Lee's story. I'm frustrated that Sony doesn't seem to share any of that. Anyone else with me?
11 comments:
I'm with you 100%! If it's missing the key elements that have made these the Spidey movies I've fallen in love with these past few years (cast, script, director, etc.) then I want no part in supporting this new franchise.
Consider this my official declaration of boycotting them!
what makes me maddest is they're actively working on either a sequel or a reboot... Superman gets nuthin'.
This is all the more reason why all of Marvel's IP needs to revert back to Marvel Studios. It's just a shame that the creative and the studio couldn't come to a compromise with S-M4. We saw how pressure from Sony to include Venom affected S-M3 (Raimi wasn't totally sold on the idea), and it resulted in the driving forces of the franchise to bow out. This was just a case of having too many cooks in the kitchen facing a deadline that was impossible to meet.
With all key players gone, it would be impossible to continue the story with an all new cast. I just can't see someone else playing Peter and MJ. The studio has no choice but to reboot the franchise. I don't know how this is all going to turn out, but I wish Marvel and Sony the best.
i could have guessed this. immediately i knew Spidey 4 wasn't going to happen when it was "announced"
I definitely commend the idea - it worked awesomely for Batman. It just seems a little soon.
Anonymous made me remember that the deadline was not pulled out of a hat. If studios with the rights to marvel characters don't continue to make films every couple of years, the rights revert to Marvel/Disney. So it's use it or lose it for Sony.
I think that's more like it.
The rights side of things was going to be a problem if a new film didn't start development soon.
Rather than lose it - they're rebooting it!
Well, call me old-fashioned, but I think you need at least ten years in between films before you can totally reboot it. But maybe that's just me!
Well, The Hulk had not much time in between. It didn't do great, but it did alright. Batman took an 8 year hiatus, I believe, and came back booming. That was after a very poorly received Batman and Robin.
Rebooting Spider-Man, which, despite it's poor third installment, is stil very much loved, will be a lot trickier.
please take some time with this. there are plenty other superhero films to fill the airspace for the next 10 (20?) years.
Without the original cast... Spider-Man is not Spider-Man. This is the cast that turned me on to Spidey in the first place. I started reading the source material as a result of the Raimi/McGuire/Dunst collaboration. :( :(
Post a Comment