Spider-Man 4 Canceled, Reboot Set for 2012

[Tom Goldman]

Spider-Man 4 Canceled, Reboot Set for 2012

Spider-Man 4's goose is cooked, but a new gosling is on the way to replace it.

Spider-Man 4 wasn't just delayed [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/97351-Spider-Man-4-Delayed-Could-Warcraft-Be-Next], it turns out that the whole project is straight up canceled. Due to various factors, Sony and Columbia Pictures have decided to nix the fourth entry to reboot the franchise with Peter Parker back in high school.

After going through multiple screenwriters, Sam Raimi, director of the first three films, was very unhappy with the current status of the script and, according to a Deadline Hollywood [http://www.deadline.com/hollywood/urgent-spider-man-4-scrapped-as-is-raimi-and-cast-out-franchise-reboot-planned/] source, said to Sony Pictures: "I can't make your date. I can't go forward creatively." Hitting a summer release date while still keeping the film's integrity was not something Raimi felt he could do. Rather than give Raimi the time he felt he needed, Sony and Columbia are going to try something completely different à la the Ultimate Spider-Man comic book reboot where Peter Parker went back to being a young whippersnapper. It looks like Sam Raimi is freed up to do the World of Warcraft movie after all.

Here's what we know about the new project, as described by a press release:

Peter Parker is going back to high school when the next Spider-Man hits theaters in the summer of 2012. Columbia Pictures and Marvel Studios announced today they are moving forward with a film based on a script by James Vanderbilt that focuses on a teenager grappling with both contemporary human problems and amazing super-human crises.

The new chapter in the Spider-Man franchise produced by Columbia, Marvel Studios and Avi Arad and Laura Ziskin, will have a new cast and filmmaking team. Spider-Man 4 was to have been released in 2011, but had not yet gone into production.

More info is expected in the coming weeks as production is prepared for the new picture. For now, rumors abound as to who will take over Spider-Man. James Cameron is one of the possible names being thrown around, due to the fact that he has already written a Spider-Man treatment. Sony and Columbia may also intend the new version of Spider-Man to be shown in 3D. According to Sony Pictures: "People are paying a premium to see movies in 3-D and that's a very big deal. It's never been done before that someone says you have to pay more to see Spider-Man than a romantic comedy." Sony could be right, Avatar is in 3D and I hear it made a lot of money [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/97199-Avatar-Makes-Billion-in-Record-Time].

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

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[Jared]

lol, I liked the little dig at the end XD

Intresting article though...

 

[Xyphon]

Peter Parker is going back to high school when the next Spider-Man hits theaters in the summer of 2012. Columbia Pictures and Marvel Studios announced today they are moving forward with a film based on a script by James Vanderbilt that focuses on a teenager grappling with both contemporary human problems and amazing super-human crises.

So they're basically remaking the first movie......

 

[Green Tentacle]

Peter Parker is going back to high school when the next Spider-Man hits theaters in the summer of 2012. Columbia Pictures and Marvel Studios announced today they are moving forward with a film based on a script by James Vanderbilt that focuses on a teenager grappling with both contemporary human problems and amazing super-human crises.

So they're basically remaking the first movie......

And it's only been 12 years.

5 bucks that this film will suck ass.

 

[DeadAccountMoveAlong]

Peter Parker is going back to high school when the next Spider-Man hits theaters in the summer of 2012. Columbia Pictures and Marvel Studios announced today they are moving forward with a film based on a script by James Vanderbilt that focuses on a teenager grappling with both contemporary human problems and amazing super-human crises.

So they're basically remaking the first movie......

Not quite. They said Spider-Man belongs in school, though. They probably won't go through a full origin story, probably just going to wind back the clock to when he was an awkward student.

I want to be on the record as saying I do not like James Cameron.

 

[JaredXE]

Awesome. After the abortion that was Spidey 3, I hope they are rebooting it Ultimate style, which is does sound like, with more emphasis on his high-school years rather than jumping into college.

 

[Ocelot GT]

I haven't enjoyed any of the spider-man movies thus far. Maybe this new movie can grab my attention, let's see.

 

[DeadlyYellow]

I can only make the face expressed in my avatar.

But does this mean we'll have a better villain than the Vulture?

 

[madcap2112]

The first couple were good enough, but I never saw the third. Can't say I'll miss it, anyway. Good on Sam Raimi for standing up for himself against the studio. Hopefully he'll make it worthwhile *cough, Evil Dead 4, cough*

 

[teutonicman]

A re-boot this soon.... what the hell?!

 

[The Great JT]

But does this mean we'll have a better villain than the Vulture?

Maybe we'll get Electro.

 

[NoNameMcgee]

Boring. I don't want to watch another remake of the whole thing so soon, that's just silly to me.

 

[jonnosferatu]

This is going to suck. Horribly.

If it doesn't I'll be happy, but seriously, it sounds like it'll just be a stupider version of the U.S. Death Note live action film...the script for which some of us may remember. *shudder*

 

[SomeBritishDude]

There's a reason Rami left the project. He'd had enough of Sony's bullshit. It was their bullshit that ruined the 3rd movie and it's their bullshit will create an awful reboot.

Was Spiderman 3 awful? Yeah, it was. But that doesn't mean you start a whole movie franchise again after barely a decade. There are things I love about the first 2 movies and there are things that I think they could improve on too (Spiderman is never talking shit to the villains, Green Goblins costume ect). But I SERIOUSLY doubt this new Spiderman will solve any of these problems, it'll just create more.

Also, dude, search bar. This news is OLD.

I can only make the face expressed in my avatar.

Acuse is confused?

 

[DeadlyYellow]

But does this mean we'll have a better villain than the Vulture?

Maybe we'll get Electro.

Electro would be good. Or perhaps his lesser, Shocker.

You know, if they're going the 3D route they could do Mysterio.

 

[Quadtrix]

Spider-Man 4 shouldn't have existed in the first place.

 

[thebobmaster_v1legacy]

But does this mean we'll have a better villain than the Vulture?

Maybe we'll get Electro.

Electro would be good. Or perhaps his lesser, Shocker.

Don't you mean "The Cushion"?

 

[Therumancer]

Well, I look at it this way:

I thought the last couple of Spider Man movies were a bit too Emo/Angst driven for me. For all of the pain of losing Uncle Ben, Spider-Man is *NOT* supposed to be a tortured loser, but actually a pretty upbeat character. Sure he deals with problems, but at the end of the day he pretty much always walks away a winner.

I'm not sure if I really agree with the idea of Spider Man belonging in High School nessicarly, he did well as a college student as well, and for a while when I was reading he actually became a college professor himself. I think it's more accurate to say that Spider Man belongs in the halls of academia more than anything. Back during Statcynski's run <SP, the guy who did Babylon 5> for example a good point is made about the fact that Spider Man might not be Reed Richards, but he IS a scientific genius. He manages to beat a more powerful mytstical opponent who 'eats' people with animal based powers, by bringing science into the equasion (specifically radioactivity from which he derived his own powers). Indeed a big part of the Spider Man concept has ALWAYS been him losing a round, heading back to the lab, and then coming back and beating whomever he was up against because he is simply smarter.

I guess in simplistic terms, the theme of Spider Man (missed in the movies I think due to the changes) is that in the end he's a hero because he's Peter Parker. For all of the super powers, there are guys a LOT tougher than he is physically. Sort of mirroring how he was bullied in school. In the end it's his brains that wins him the day as often as anything.

Also many Spider-Man stories also include parallel stories. Oftentimes what is happening to Peter Parker, is very similar in a way to whatever problem he runs into as "Spider-Man". In many cases (but not always) he resolves one problem, and it leads to the solution to the other problem. He *DOES* manage to one-up the bullies and such all on his own in a lot of cases. It's also notworthy that unlike say "Ultimate Spider Man" even the people who pick on him have some respect for him as a brain. I suppose part of the problem is that it's dated (and not even used that much in the comics) but I don't think any of the relaunches have managed to capture the essence of Peter Parker's high school life. Understand, one of the minor sub plots is that Flash hates him because *HIS* girlfriends usually wind up liking Peter (and let's be frank, any Spidey fan could pretty much write a hundred page essay on Felicia Hardy alone).

At any rate to do the story "Right" even apart from the rest of the Marvel Universe the first they they need to do is get back to the idea of Peter as a genius as opposed to some kind of "normal guy". That's a lynchpin of the entire concept. Instead of giving him some retarded "I shoot webs out of my hands" mutant power, I feel going back to him inventing the web shooters is important. The guy should also be portrayed as smart enough, especially when it comes to chemistry, that your not entirely sure where his knowlege ends and the chemical knowlege he gained as part of his spider power begins. In the end though it's important to note that after getting his webby butt kicked accross town, Spider Man oftentimes comes back with special webbing and such of his own design. Flaming bad guy? He's made Abestos webbing. Guy he can't punch (like Sandman, or Hydro Man)? Then he'll shoot something into him to make him solid, I believe he once shot glue into the Sandman so he couldn't seperate the grains, and used some kind of absorbing "sponge" type webbing on Hydro Man over the years (it's been a very long time, and we're talking some older stuff).

The bottom line is that Raimi and Macguire did a few good movies, but I didn't think their vision really captured the essence of the character. I for one welcome a reboot.

I think what these movies show is the differance between a good director like Sam Raimi (even if he's campy) and say Michael Bay. I'll be honest in saying that despite movies like "Darkman" Raimi is all wrong for this material. However he's very talented, and had some great stuff to work with, with a decent budget. He made it sing even if it wasn't perfect. In comparison while it sold well, I have to agree to some extent about Michael Bay's involvement with The Transformers. He wasn't right for the material, and while he CAN make good movies (I won't knock him as badly as many) he wasn't good enough to make this work anyway. I suspect Sam Raimi's "Spider Man Trilogy" will make money for decades to come even with a relaunch. While it made more money in the short term, I am not sure if "Transformers" is going to endure quite as well.

I see Raimi's "Spider Man" as being similar to the original handfull of "Batman" movies before they died and got a Christian Bale relaunch. I am guessing part of thjis is they decided to kill it before we got to see things like Arnold Schwartzneggar as Mr. Freeze.

 

[Irridium]

Ok, Hollywood has been pretty reboot-happy these days, but really?

Its only been like, what or so years?

I can only make the face expressed in my avatar.

And that is fine, since Aku is all sorts of badass.

 

[Rahnzan]

I thought this was going to be a movie about ReBoot and I was all '**** YEAH'...

G'damnit...