Breaking News: Sam Raimi and Tobey Maguire are out of Spider-Man 4! Sony moving forward with Franchise reboot.
Well, I kind of saw this coming. Spider-Man 4 with its issues over villains, Sony vs. Raimi disputes and delays is now confirmed dead.
Many of our readers agreed with what I said in our last post on the confirmed delay of Spider-Man 4 in that perhaps Raimi and Sony should simply part ways and they can take the franchise in another direction or start from scratch.
Now it is confirmed from Nikki Finke and Mike Fleming at Deadline Hollywood that the cast and director have pulled out entirely and Sony will instead go the route of the reboot with Jamie Vanderbilt’s script.
This was bound to happen after the mess of Spider-Man 3 and I’m a little surprised it took this long for Raimi and Sony to part ways considering he was seemingly promised creative control of this fourth installment after being somewhat of a puppet for the studio the last go in terms of villain selections.
According to Finke and Fleming’s sources, Raimi told Sony that he cannot make their scheduled release date and in response, the heads of Sony Pictures and Columbia Pictures were not fond of the idea of replacing the director or waiting, so they will instead do what many fans want and reboot the franchise all together.
When Marvel Studios moved Thor into Spider-Man 4′s key release date at the opening weekend of summer 2011, we knew Spider-Man 4 was officially on the move but it’s a little surprising to see that turn into a full blown cleansing of the slate so to speak.
I guess John Malkovich won’t be getting that final script treatment for his role as the Vulture after all…
The good news is that this ties into my theory of Spider-Man 5 & 6 being reboots anyway, interconnected with the Venom movie.
Does this news break your heart or make you cry for joy? What do you want to see from the reboot?
[Update 1: Sony Pictures Tweeted that the reboot will see Peter Parker back in High School and that the film will come in 2012 as opposed to Spider-Man 4's May 2011 planned release date]
[Update 2: Sony put put their official press release on the matter - See below]
Culver City, CA (January 11, 2010) — 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.
“A decade ago we set out on this journey with Sam Raimi and Tobey Maguire and together we made three Spider-Man films that set a new bar for the genre. When we began, no one ever imagined that we would make history at the box-office and now we have a rare opportunity to make history once again with this franchise. Peter Parker as an ordinary young adult grappling with extraordinary powers has always been the foundation that has made this character so timeless and compelling for generations of fans. We’re very excited about the creative possibilities that come from returning to Peter’s roots and we look forward to working once again with Marvel Studios, Avi Arad and Laura Ziskin on this new beginning,” said Amy Pascal, co-chairman of Sony Pictures Entertainment.
“Working on the Spider-Man movies was the experience of a lifetime for me. While we were looking forward to doing a fourth one together, the studio and Marvel have a unique opportunity to take the franchise in a new direction, and I know they will do a terrific job,” said Sam Raimi.
“We have had a once-in-a-lifetime collaboration and friendship with Sam and Tobey and they have given us their best for the better part of the last decade.This is a bittersweet moment for us because while it is hard to imagine Spider-Man in anyone else’s hands, I know that this was a day that was inevitable,” said Matt Tolmach, president of Columbia Pictures, who has served as the studio’s chief production executive since the beginning of the franchise. “Now everything begins anew, and that’s got us all tremendously excited about what comes next. Under the continuing supervision of Avi and Laura, we have a clear vision for the future of Spider-Man and can’t wait to share this exciting new direction with audiences in 2012.”
“Spider-Man will always be an important franchise for Sony Pictures and a fresh start like this is a responsibility that we all take very seriously,” said Michael Lynton, Chairman and CEO of Sony Pictures. “We have always believed that story comes first and story guides the direction of these films and as we move onto the next chapter, we will stay true to that principle and will do so with the highest respect for the source material and the fans and moviegoers who deserve nothing but the best when it comes to bringing these stories and characters to life on the big screen.”
The studio will have more news about Spider-Man in 2012 in the coming weeks as it prepares for production of the film.
Spider-Man Movie Reboot: Good Idea or Bad?
- Terrible idea, keep the current cast (58%)
- Good idea, it's time for fresh blood (42%)
Total Votes: 1,237
Loading ...Source: Deadline Hollywood
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The over-arching thing I’m concerned about is just that it is too early for a re-boot.
Most people do not seem to care for another origin story.
Logical sequence of events does not call for another origin story. It seems like every freaking super-hero movie is another origin story!! Enough of that!
As disappointing as it is, you could lose Raimi and the actors and still theoretically have a good film – but what pisses me off the MOST is that they’re set on taking Spidey back to high school. We’re past that!! It’s too soon! There is no demand for it!
W.
T.
F.
Guys and gals – there is one reason why this is good news. And that is because Sam Raimi is now free to direct The Avengers!
Let Marvel / Disney pull some strings and get that franchise back bevor someone gets hurt ….
This is sad that we’ll have to wait longer for another movie, but good as in Spider-Man deserves a better dedicated team who don’t just want to cash in on him…and to give us a great new look.
Ideally I would love to see Sony & Marvel start pulling him closer to the rest of the Marvel movies coming out..so that it’ll be possible to see him in an Iron-Man/Hulk/Avengers movie!
the only good news about this is they can redo the venom and symbiote story lines and origins..
in that regard i am totally excited!
In my head i imaging it will continue where the 3rd movie ends. Peter forgive MJ and she tells him what Harry told her to do to save him. Later they decide to get married but there a new villain in New York. Peter must stop him before it get’s whorse. MJ get’s kidnapped once again but Peter must try to save her before it too late. MJ almost get killed but Spiderman arrived just in time. The villain get hurt baddly and Spiderman give him a chance to live. In the end Peter and MJ get married. This could be fun to watch with all the action in it. The villain could be the lizard.
I say finally!!!
I’ve been thinkn for awhile about how the marvel universe is going to be depected in future movies & I kept on getting into the same problem, how will they combine spiderman, wolverine, & other characters into the new Avengers storyline Marvel is going for & bam there it is. If they restart then they can forge in all the other superheroes!
Uh no there you don’t go.
A Spidey reboot will accomplish nothing for an Avengers movie because Marvel Studios controls Iron Man, Hulk, Thor, etc… while other companies control Xmen, Spiderman etc…. if Marvel controlled Spidey, I HIGHLY DOUBT Spiderman 4 would have been cancelled. Then again if Marevel controlled Spidey, Spiderman 3 would not have been the horrible mess it was thanks to SONY mucking things up, making Raimi shoehorn Venom in there and change the script, etc…..
The guy had a chance to fix their meddling in Spiderman 4 and it was originally said if I remember right he could do what he needed to – and they F-ed him again – and us in the process.
Reboot?…..
Good lord there isn’t even any dust on the first movie yet.
As far as SONY is concerned I think this was a s***** move to pull on Raimi, the stars and the fans.
(And as a sidenote, at least MArvel Studios is doing it right as Spiderman had nothing at all to do with the original Avengers)
It’s about time.
Maybe now they can finally do the comic book justice.
Would be even better if MARVEL Studios obtained all exclusive rights though.
Am I the only one who thinks Tobey and Kirstin were the worst possible actors for the role in the first place. It is a breath of fresh air to get rid of them. One cant act, the other is a very ugly female.
Aknot I”m sorry but I gotta disagree. For one actor to simply be that hero they have to have done a good job. Reeves is Superman, but Adam West is not Batman. He was the worst of them just barely right there with George Clooney.
I don’t get everyone thinking it will be Shia or Effron. Both of them are getting older and this movie isn’t even filming yet. This movie is about Peter in high school that instantly rules out Shia basically and makes Effron very unlikely.
It is so nice to hear that someone else find Dunst to be a very, and I mean highly unattractive Mary Jane. If you’ve ever seen any Spidey comic or GN (Graphic Novel) you’d easily see that Dunst is an atrocious representation of the Mary Jane character. She may be able to act although her acting is more suited for the suicidal character since her expression is always one who is about to break down in tears, but she can’t act the way they need to properly represent the MJ character. A far better physical representation of Mary Jane would be a young Denise Richardson’s; now that’s a hot Mary Jane. Richardson may not be a Red Head but since when as a different hair color ever prevented Hollywood from casting an actor or actress? You can always dye their hair but you certainly can’t squeeze sexy from a Kirsten Dunst any more then you can blood from a rock.
@Daniel F
While I agree they’re unlikely choices, I wouldn’t say it’s because their too old. Maguire was 27 when he first played Spider-man, it’s actually pretty normal for older people to play much younger roles in films and TV and Shia and Efron are the perfect age.
That said, Shia’s too big a star these days to play Parker and Efron’s too much of a pretty boy.
The first Spiderman wasn’t entirely based in High school they could get away with Maguire because they were skipping ahead to his mid 20′s.
Also Dunst is a very attractive woman and one of the better actresses in hollywood.
Gordon Joseph Levitt for Peter Parker
Im sorry I have to totally disagree with Dunst being an attractive woman and the fact of playing MJ. MJ in the comics is a MODEL!!!! Dunst isnt even close IMHO. I think that Milo Ventimiglia from heroes should play Peter Parker. Instead of MJ I would prefer Gwen Stacy for the reboot
Levitt? Surely you jest.
The kid cant act, he’s a movie ruiner on par with the blond imbecile from Fast n Furious. One face for all emotions, and comes off mildly retarded in every character.
This makes me a sad panda.
Seriously, why do we even need a reboot? Yeah, Spider-Man 3 wasn’t very good. But the first two are fantastic movies and in my mind there’s no reason to One More Day them out of existence.
So Raimi’s out (this is the biggest disappointment for me as I really, really like the guy) and the cast gets replaced, but there’s no reason to turn Peter back into a teenager. All this means is we’ll be getting more wangst and not the fully grown up Spider-Man we’d finally get in Spidey 4.
I will agree that both Macguire and Dunst were miscast, but I do feel like they each made the characters their own.
And it just occurred to me that this means I don’t get to see Bruce Campbell ham it up as a villain.
Bu!!$h!t !!!! This is perhaps the worst possible news IMO….It's only been 8 years since Spider-man debuted and 3 years since the last film..which I enjoyed by the way..except for the Stayin' ALive Disco EMO Peter Parker portion…too soon..I hope this blows up in Sony's faces….
I completely agree with The Pitt Man. Joseph-Gordon Levitt is PERFECT!
@ the guy who said he can’t act:
See the 2001 movie “Manic.” That’s award-worthy stuff in my opinion.
I said it before, and I'll say it again… a reboot of Spider-Man while the franchise and its storyline is still fresh in the minds of many is a really dumb move by Sony.
A reboot now would basically trash the storyline laid out in the 3 Spidey films by Sam Raimi, and make all three films null and void. And as for those who say a Spider-Man reboot along the lines of Star Trek would work should keep something in mind … the principal reason why the Star Trek reboot worked was because enough time had passed to make a new version of Trek worthwhile.
The Spider-Man franchise is just 8 years old, and Spider-Man 3 is almost 3 years old. It's just too soon for Sony to talk about a reboot. I would suggest that Sony put some distance between us and the franchise for a while before deciding to reboot it.
@sambeckett
The thing that I think is different about these movies is that they are still fresh in my mind. I don’t feel like they are dated movies. The batman movies spanned about a decade and had three different directors I believe. But yea the suits are saying screw the original let’s tell our own story. Now that just sucks. I don’t think I’ve ever been more hyped for a movie in my life than I was for the first one. Great memories…
@ sis
tobey is just too freaking old looking.. spidey was always young..
i say spit 3-4 very high quality new enemy films.. and pray youve picked your peter parker correctly.. thats what will make or break the new franchise.
I seen that Levitt tard in two movies, no need to suffer a 3rd.
And in 500 Days of Summer I mentioned to those sitting with me, with a chuckle, to look – the kid has NO shoulders whatsoever, and everyone agreed and couldnt get over the fact he’s a stick with a head on it. bizarre looking kid, even Toby wasnt THAT skinny when he found he’d earned the role.
But Im not worried he’ll ever be picked. (crosses fingers though, lol)
the first 2 spiderman movies were good the third one sucked soo much i cant stand to watch any of it. if sony would want to reboot the spiderman movies they should switch up to spiderman unlimited and make his ass go in to another world and start it over that way. so i hope sony reads these
Apolagies if this sounds dumb but I was wondering if anyone else is seeing some odd behaivors with this thread? I am now seeing only 4 comments on this piece whene there have been several dozen posts as of yesterday afternoon.
The change in the comment system has caused comments to disappear but they
should be back soon. not sure.
Yes, we've run into a hiccup but all comments WILL be restored.
Vic