The Amazing Spider-man

[phantom stranger]

I could get behind a reboot. But apparently they want to take the character back to high school. I know that the character started off in high school but still not something I'm looking forward to. Getting a Disney Channel vibe from this...

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 Summer 2012 reboot from a 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 out now (see below).

http://www.deadline.com/hollywood/urgent-spider-man-4-scrapped-as-is-raimi-and-cast-out-franchise-reboot-planned/

[The Dark Knight]

What? What?!

What a huge turn around.

I'm massively disappointed. Loved Tobey in the role and wanted another two or even three from him.

Some will be pleased by this news, but I seriously did not think Spider-Man 3 was that bad to start a reboot.

I am not really looking forward to this. They already had an origin story and I don't want to see it again so soon.

Why not just get a new director and continue the story arc? Or better yet, why not push the release date back to give Raimi the breathing room he needs?

Gutted.

[Paul (ral)]

So no John Malcovich as the Vulture?

Damn studios!

[The Dark Knight]

I think rebooting an extremely successful 8 year old franchise is absolutely ridiculous. Shall we reboot Star Trek again while we're at it?!

Instead of seeing the characters grow and develop, we instead go backwards to high school in a reboot. And no Dylan Baker Lizard ever, too.

[johnnygobbs]

I've got very mixed feelings about this.

On one hand I absolutely loved the first two Spiderman films, particularly the first which I count among my five all time favourite comic-book movies.  I also find it difficult to imagine Sony finding a quality director of Raimi's standard for a new Spiderman franchise, especially if they are looking for a 2012 release.

On the other hand, whilst I enjoyed Spiderman 3 and don't think it was half as bad as many of its critics made out, I still think the filmmakers did themselves a disservice with the film's overly-contrived story (i.e. the sympbiote falls from space and just happens to land a few feet away from the world's only spider-enhanced man mutant).  They also effectively limited the direction future sequels could have taken (i.e. no more Venom, and therefore no possibility of Carnage, after the former was killed off, not to mention the unlikelihood of Man-Wolf, since its his story in the comics that initially led to the development of Venom).  I don't blame Raimi for these developments (more Sony and particularly Avi Arad, who pushed for an early introduction of Venom against Raimi's better judgement).  However, my enthusiasm for a fourth film had been severely dampened by the relative artistic failure of Spiderman 3.

I just hope that Sony learn from the postive lessons of the first two Raimi films, and their own mishandling of the third film before they proceed with this reboot.

[Gotham Knight]

I think its a mistake. Sam should have been allowed to get a shot at a fourth. There shouldn't be a reboot for reboot's sake. 1 and 2 were masterpieces of the genre.

The super hero 3s curse lives on.

[The Dark Knight]

Sam should have been allowed to get a shot at a fourth.

Absolutely.

I've read where they were going to reboot after Raimi's proposed fourth film anyway. They're just pushing that time table ahead.

A complete reboot just seems so pointless, though.

[phantom stranger]

And no Dylan Baker Lizard ever, too.

Damn it! I forgot about that!

[The Dark Knight]

For some folks out there, I think this is the equivalent of the Burton/Keaton Batman 3 situation.

And no future composer will beat Elfman's main theme. Like the Batman and Superman themes, it just IS the character.

[johnnygobbs]

For some folks out there, I think this is the equivalent of the Burton/Keaton Batman 3 situation.

And no future composer will beat Elfman's main theme. Like the Batman and Superman themes, it just IS the character.

I have to disagree with you here The Dark Knight.

The difference is that Raimi essentially made a trilogy.  Even though it was his intention to continue with the franchise beyond three films, at least Sony is rebooting the franchise as opposed to what happened with Batman, where Warners tried to pretend that Schumacher's travesties had anything to do with Burton's classics.

Also, Elfman's Spiderman score was fine, but it was nowhere near as iconic as either his Batman scores, or John Williams' Superman score.