July 10, 2009 | by Rob Keyes 

Does Spider-Man 4’s Next Rewrite Mean We Should Be Worried?

Tobey Maguire - Spider-Man

News has surfaced that Gary Ross, writer of such films including Seabiscuit, The Tale of Despereaux, Dave and Lassie in the past and writer/director of some others (that we’ll discuss later), is being brought in to re-write the script of Spider-Man 4.

What does this mean for the movie?

On one side, Ross was likely chosen because of his growing relationship with Sony which includes his directing of a Lance Armstrong cycling film and his work on the in-development Tokyo Suckerpunch.

On the other side, Spider-Man 4’s script is getting yet another rewrite meaning there are major issues with it (probably due to what happened in Spider-Man 3). This leaves me wondering what direction the film will take after the last movie and how, or if, it will lead at all into the Venom spinoff movie we’ve heard a lot about.

If you were expecting to hear any official updates as to who the villain(s) may be in the next installment, expect to wait a little longer with this news.

With these rewrites, I hope we get a solid and polished story for the movie. I highly disliked Spidey 3 and this needs return to the form of the first two. However, the difference is that I would like to see more of a real villain this time. We’ve seen far too much of the same formula of “I’m not really a bad guy, science did this to me” villains who redeem themselves at the end.

I wonder what Sam Raimi’s involvement with the script and story is this time around…

Interestingly, the only two movies Ross has directed, Tobey Maguire has starred in: Pleasantville and Seabiscuit which were both good movies. On top of that, they have two in-development films coming up in Tokyo Suckerpunch and The Crusaders. That gives me some hope at least.

What do you think of this fourth installment getting another re-write? Are they just ensuring the quality or is it a big mess?

Spider-Man 4 is scheduled to begin production next year and open May 6, 2011, sharing the summer with other heroes including Thor, Green Lantern and Captain America.

Source: Variety

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  • Ollie
    I suppose if they are getting re-writes they are noticing parts that aren't so good which could be a possible plus side, although they could take out parts that are actually good it could go either way which is worrying :S
  • tasouli
    I 100% completely agree with them casting a pure villain' one that has not just become a villain due to a science experiment gone wrong. I have actually been saying this to everyone I know since spidey 2. This whole notion of casting a pure villain seemed to work well with the batman series (Raz Algul, Joker) and I think will work for Spidey.
    This is why I think (accompanied by the fact that the villain is a a NY centralized villain) that the villain will be the Kingpin. I dont neccessarily think that Spidey will fight him but that he will be more like a mob boss sending his henchmen after spidey (scorpion, vulture, ect)
    I think that al comic movies now are looking at TDK and how well incorporating the mob into a movie works.

    Now will this work for Spidey, maybe and maybe not.

    I think that they need to drift away from the story of the first three movies and start up something completely new for the next two. IF they could manage to salvage Venom I think that he would be great (but spidey 3 really ruined the character for me and Topher Grace is no Venom if anything he coudl have replaced Tobey McGuire for Spidey).
    I think that having Peter Parkers spider powers evolve would also be cool, seeing him start turning into more of a spider and having to have find a cure.
    Also the Vulture would be a GREAT villain as we could use two talented actors to play him. Just some thoughts.

    What would RUIN in the movie?
    1-Just the kingpin as a villain
    2-continuing the story from the past 3 by bringing back harry or norman osborne
    3-CGI version of the Lizard
    4-Any version of Carnage
    5-Too many villains
  • T
    Alright, if they are willing to change the script many times to finally get a working formula then why the hell not.

    The villain could probably be Kingpin but I wouldn't be so certain because 20th Century Fox may not give up the rights to the character. So the villain could be Silvermaine or Hammerhead or it could be a terrorist say I don't know the Chameleon.
  • Rhaemye
    6- Tobey as Spidey
    7- Raimi directing
    8- Writer of Seabiscuit rewriting the script
  • SK-47
    tasouli, I think that Spider-man is the only one character than can transition from fighting a "real" world villain like the Mob to a comic-book villain such as Mysterio. His rogues list is a half & half of mobsters, scientists, aliens, etc. He is also the one character, or main stream character than can go from light to dark easily. Being a New York based character helps him greatly.

    So when you say "Now will this work for Spidey, maybe and maybe not." I think it will easily.

    That being said, cannot be the Kingpin. He is a Fox property unless Sony forks some cash to cross the characters. But, if Gary Ross is smart enough, and he is because Pleasantville is really a great movie, then I am sure he can work some magic with say The Shocker. Take that guy and turn him into the baddest villain out there.
  • hamlet3k
    Am I the only person who's nervous over the fact that we're not hearing about this from Sam Raimi? This sort of "news" surfacing doesn't sound positive at all. Nor does Sony hiring a script doctor who has a relationship with Sony. How 'bout someone who has a relationship with Sam? Like his brothers? Or Bob Tappert?

    This feels like an executive with a gold toilet and delusions of artistic grandeur saying, "we interfered with the development of Spiderman 3 and just look what THAT got us! How can we fix Spiderman 4? Clearly, I think we need to interfere MORE. That's the only possible solution."

    Raise your hand if you got a wee bit of a nerd boner back when Sam was talking about Spiderman 4 as a straight-up horror movie with Morbeus. What the eff happened to THAT? That's a movie I'd want to see.

    Fie on it.
  • Yes it should. The third movie was terrible and I have no plans to pay to see any more of these Spiderman movies. It hasn't lived up to anything for me.
  • They are either being overly cautious this time and want to get it right or...it sucks big time and they have screwed up!
    maybe they should just let Sam Raimi have another crack at it, after all it wasn't really his fault that Spider-man 3 sucked it was the suits interfearing and cocking it all up.
  • 37 radius
    Yeah i heard this news yesterday but a while ago i heard the updates for Spiderman 4 will be Kingpin, Lizard, or Morbius on a different site. Why is it taking so long for them to start shooting? Is Sam Raimi remaking " Evil Dead" ?
  • Gary
    They might be thinking of the Kingpin as a villain to make it more like Nolans Bat films.
    I dont think its a bad thing that the writer has directed Tobey twice.
    Who better to write for him?
    I will reserve judgment until we hear more about the script.
  • tasouli
    @ SK-47
    I agree with you, I should be more optimistic towards the upcoming movie because the first two were great and I do agree that Spidey can easily transition from fight real world villains to comic book villains.

    @ Rhaemye
    -Tobey has done a solid job as spidey, up until the third nobody complained, the guy is a solid actor and I think that he was a great casting call
    -Sam Raimi had full control over the first 2 spideys and they turned out fantastic...the studio made him throw in venom in the last movie and altered other portions of the story...dont blame Raimi, very happy with his directing
    -as for the writer of seabisquit I think that it is a good idea having someone known to write/direct good solid movies to REVIEW and PARTIALLY REWRITE the script. He isnt rewriting the whole thing, they already have teh general idea down and they ahve already casted the actors so I think they are just trying to make sure that someone outside the whole comic genre-someone involved with movies that get good reviews- is on board with the script.

    My mind towards this project is optimistic although I still have some roomthere for doubt. Personally I would like to see the vulture or a good take on venom but I doubt that we will get any of those
  • Andy S
    I think some people need to re-read this article from a few months ago right here on Screen Rant:

    http://screenrant.com/marvel-comics-movies-char...

    Kingpin will absolutely, positively NOT be the villain. Not gonna happen. Can they create a new villain that is a mobster? Sure, but they won't because it would mess with the established line in the films.

    I for one think that the re-writes are a GOOD thing as long as they're working on making this a great Spidey film. If it's Sony's way of putting their nose into business where it doesn't belong (a'la Venom in Spidey 3), this needs to stop. However, the fact that this is a writer who has written some quality films is reassuring.
  • greenknight333
    I thought FOX had the rights to the Kingpin character..
  • greenknight333
    I think the quality of the SPiderman franchise is very high..3 dropped the ball but overall I can still watch the 3rd one repeatedly..I just fast forward the parts I don't like..singing MJ, all dancing scenes and the Saturday Night Fever strut Parker does ..other than those I really enjoy the film..SPiderman 3 edited by GK333..

    I think the fourth film will return to the level of S2..I am highly confident it will..
  • Andy S
    @gk333 & Joshi..

    If they had editted OUT those parts, Spidey 3 would have been much better.
  • Andy S
    Joshi, they could have even left Sandman in the film, too. I thought he was great and the SFx when he was created where awesome. They still could have left the redemption of Harry story arc there, he just helps Peter defeat Sandman instead of Venom AND Sandman. They SHOULD have left the whole Venom storyline for Spidey 4. Venom is bad-ass enough to be a lone villain in the films. He didn't need to sure the villain spotlight with Harry and Sandman.
  • 404 minutes left
    Um, Raimi was never forced to do Venom, he just never read him as a kid so he wasn`t familiar with him. Maybe they put a little pressure on him, but that doesn`t mean they forced him to, they taught him all about it so he went and put him in to pull the fans up front. I do agree that it was a little early for him, though. But why are people saying that they forced him into it, he just didn`t understand him enough to see and relate to him well. Anyway, since they already used Venom it would make no sense not to display Carnage in, when a symbiote is lighted on the big screen, it should be very obvious what the next storyline is supposed to be, quitting on the symbiotes this early would make everything look neutralized. Look at Peter`s story from the first film, I think it`s meant for him to go through something big and scary, so doing Venom as a villain i think perfectly followed Peter`s journey. Carnage doesn`t have to be murderous, and just because he`s such a sychopath doesn`t mean he`d have to be toned down in a PG-13 movie. It really depends on the way it`s written, and the reason why it didn`t work with Venom was only because he didn`t fit with 2 major villains. Although Venom`s design worked pretty well, if their designs are done over with i really don`t see how giving them the right abilities in the shots would be the trouble when it`s focusing solely on them. Hey, why can`t they get Tod Mcfarlane and Michelline to help write the script? But a great story focusing on them as the 2 villains should be saved for SM5, however.Oh yeah may i ask that we please continue commenting for as long as possible when we`re not busy, it`s kind of funny the way after a while nobody comments, i want to see everyone`s opinions.
    But i feel like people are gonna keep saying to keep the symbiotes out of it... tsaouli, it depends on how well the script is written, and they don`t even have to give them all their abilities( usually such as turning invisible).
  • Stephen
    I'm thinking they are just ensuring the quality since the last one was so meh. If Raimi is in control like he was for Spider-man and Spider-man 2 then I trust it'll be another pretty good Spider-man movie.
  • have peters Powers Rapidly GRowing and Give us MAN-SPIDER .

    Just a thought.

    and if they should Bring in any New Character they should Bring in one of my Favorites "the BLACK CAT".
    and i know scarlett johansson is set to play the black widow.
    but i thought she would make a Great Felicia hardy.
  • greenknight333
    @ Joshi and Andy S

    The character that Franco and Raimi developed through the first two SPiderman films with Harry was great..then they destroyed all that momentum by putting Harry on the backburner..unfortunate because it was one of the best parts of S3..

    The Sandman origin scene was fantastic..reminded me of when the Frankenstein(Boris Karlof) monster somes to life and starts to walk...I pitied and also had a sense of revulsion for the creature at the same time..

    Cheers
  • 404 minutes left
    Stephen, i said Raimi was never forced to do Venom, they were just telling him to try to be aware of what`s going to make everything right in the film.
  • 37 radius
    Oh, maybe it was Kraven, Lizard, and Kingpin, i don`t remember. But if Lizard and Kraven have a great story for them to zip into the bag, then i`ll try it if it gives them a rest from what kind of hard work they`ve done. But i heard that the only reason why they want to do a Spiderman 4 is for the money, after SM3 came out they said they don`t have energy to do a fourth. Did making SM movies get boring for them?
  • chrisj
    I think Felicia Hardy should be introduced down the road, but only if Morbious was involved two. question is how will she get her Black Cat powers in a good script? Anyone know if actor Michael Papajohn supposed to play a different character in the next film, kinda like how Bruce Campbell does in the previous films?
  • chrisj
    BTW. I think actress Laura Vandervoort would be perfect to play Felicia Hardy.
  • 37 radius
    Putting in Black Cat for a love interest of Spiderman would be too much after what has happened in the series so far.
  • chrisj
    Maybe they could wait till they decide to do a Spider-man 6 and introduce her as Felicia Hardy atleast. And go from there.
  • 37 radius
    No i don`t think there should be a SM6, i think it`s only meant to be 5 movies. Doing 6 movies would twirl the series into a different form.
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  • Andy S
    Am I the only one who completely ignores posts that are typed in all caps?
  • 37 radius
    Uuuum, ok they`re probably in this for more than just the money, anyway though. As for the symbiotes, yeah i agree with 404, it`s really the way they write the script, if they had their part alone in SM5 throughout the entire film how would it ultimately cause the trainwreck disaster to approach? They have the full movie to themselves, if they make a great story to carry them off in the movie what makes it so over the corner to bounce to a basket there? And yeah they already used Venom, it`d make no sense not using Carnage, what makes it too much if they even get saved for a movie with the serious finale showdown?
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