Spider-man 4: Reboot
January 22nd, 2010
So the news has been out for a little while now about the new Spider-man movie being a reboot of the series. Raimi and Maguire are gone; in now is a new director and an all new cast. I figure being a huge Spidey fan, I should put in my two cents on the happenings.
Raimi being out is saddening, but I respect him for his decision to walk. He did great things with Spider-man 1 & 2, and they completely robbed him of creative power for the third installment. We all saw what happened with that. Faced with the same creative restrictions for the fourth movie, and less and less time to produce a quality film, he decided that he was no longer going to do it. More power to him. I respect a person that sticks to his or her values.
So Sony decides to go with a reboot. Man, I would love if Marvel could buy back the rights. I know they would do it right. Sony’s going back to high school, not necessarily a full origin story, but they’re going to switch the perspective from the baddies to the hardships of juggling high school and being a super hero, and living with the guilt of not stopping your uncle’s killer. Less based on the Amazing series, they’re going to get their background from the Ultimate Spider-man series. I love Brian Michael Bendis’ writing, but I never could get into Ultimate Spider-man because of how different it is from the traditional series. I respect it for what it is though. It made Spider-man accessible to a whole new generation of comic book readers without weighing them down in forty years of continuity.
The new director they’ve chosen for the reboot I actually have faith in. Marc Webb, more known for being a music video director, has directed one feature length movie – the Golden Globe nominated (500)Days of Summer. If you know me at all, you know I’m somewhat biased because I love that movie. However, if you’ve seen the movie, you also know that it handles well very emotional, serious moments that all of us have experienced, while simultaneously containing a light-hearted, upbeat mood. If that’s not the proper style for a Spider-man movie, I don’t know what is.
The budget for the reboot is going to be dramatically less than the previous incarnations – in the $80 million range. But, District 9 has shown that even with a minimal budget, amazing effects can be achieved. Plus, if the focus is shifted to the characters (which, I think we can all agree, is what draws most people to Spidey) then it doesn’t need an exorbitant budget. So I don’t think that’ll be a limiting factor for the movie.
Another promising aspect they announced was that they’re searching for all relative no-names to play the cast. I think this is a phenomenal idea, especially given the age of the characters. I’m tired of movies casting twenty-somethings as high schoolers. And I hope they get MJ right this time. I cannot stand Kirsten Dunst as Mary Jane. She did not play the character right at all. Besides the obvious Peter and MJ, there are two characters I’m very interested in. First, I want to know who the villain will be, but that’s a given. But secondly, will they include Gwen Stacy from the get go? She plays a prominent part in the Ultimate series, up until her death (which did not have the impact that her original one in ASM #121 had) so it would make sense, especially if they get the love triangle going early.
I guess we’ll just have to wait and see what develops.
Tags: Movies, Spider-man