Spider-Man Reboot? Already?!
If you're as big of a movie nut as I am, you've probably already heard the news. Sam Raimi and the original cast of the Spider-Man films have walked out of the now 'canceled' Spider-Man 4. There's varying reports on why exactly this happened, but the assumption is that the studio was trying to pressure director Sam Raimi into changing the script into something they were more comfortable with (like what happened with Spider-Man 3). Sam basically told them to go take a hike, and the studio is now scrambling to get a new director and a new screenplay for a proposed 'Spider-Man reboot'.
Oh boy... where do I start with this?
Let me first start off by saying that I've never been a big fan of Sam Raimi's Spider-Man films. The only one I thought was of any quality was Spider-Man 2, while Spider-Man and Spider-Man 3 were merely average. I didn't hate Spider-Man 3 quite as much as most of my nerdy kin, but I'll admit to entering it with extremely low expectations. So, that being said, the Spider-Man franchise has never been one of my favorites.
But do we really need a reboot so quickly? I suppose it's better than doing a sequel without Maguire or Dunst in their respective roles, but why not let it die for a while before bringing it back from the dead. Overall, this just sounds like the studio despeartely trying to make money of the brand name rather than thinking about the franchise in the long-run.
I never thought I would actually say this but... I think I'm going to miss the ol' web head.
If you quickly slap together a reboot to make a 2012 release date, which is what they're aiming for at the moment, there's all kinds of factors that can go haywire. For one thing, what makes them think that audiences want a new Spider-Man? Besides the critical failure of Spider-Man 3, I would guess that most modern audiences don't want a new take on this character yet. It's too soon. It's waaaay too soon.
When Christopher Nolan rebooted Batman, the Batman films were on the verge of death. Two 'wretched' Batman movies had been released right next to each other, and people had lost faith in the franchise as a whole. We needed a fresh take at that point. We needed to be reminded of why we loved Batman for all those years.
The Spider-Man films are still going strong. They haven't sunk to that level yet. At least give the original series some more time to rest in the grave before you force the replacement down our throats.
With that being said, I'm kind of curious to see how this whole thing turns out. The last time I was this skeptical was when I heard about the new Star Trek film... and wow was I wrong about that one. So who knows, maybe the new Spidey will even manage to be better than the old films. I kind of doubt it, but I'll give them the benefit of a doubt.
If they were to do an adaptation of Ultimate Spider-Man... I would be a happy fanboy!
But really Sony? Did you have to do it 'right after' Sam Raimi walked out the door?
Sam: "I'm leaving! If you don't want the Vulture, then it's over for me!"
Sony Exec: "Yeah, but Sam..."
Sam: "Over!"
-door slams-
Sony Exec: "Reboot. Get our best writers and producers on it right now!"