Is it possible to be totally shocked and yet half expecting something at the same time? Massive news has come out of Hollywood (broken by Deadline Hollywood) that director Sam Raimi and actor Tobey Maguire have walked away from Spider-man 4, and that as a result, Sony has announced a complete reboot of the franchise, with the first instalment of that coming in 2012.
It was announced last week that while production on Spidey 4 was due to start imminently, the whole thing had been delayed due to disagreements between Raimi and the studio over the villains in the film. However only this weekend, it was reported Maguire was saying supportive things about the movie and that the delays were purely because they wanted to get things right, but now it’s all change. Maguire’s involvement in Spider-man 4 had always hinged on Raimi directing, and so without him, it’s not surprising the actor has jumped ship as well.
The official reason for Raimi leaving is that he had budget and script concerns and felt that he didn’t have time to make a film that was up to standard in order to hit a 2011 release date. Because of this, he’s stepping aside. So that means no more Maguire, no Vulture and Vulturess, and on a more positive note, no more Kirsten Dunst!
So what does this mean for Spidey? Well, it’s one of Sony’s most profitable franchises, so they’re not just going to sit on it until the rights revert back to Marvel, and luckily for them, they already have a contingency plan. Before Raimi agreed to make Spider-man 4, Sony was already working on a reboot of the webbed wonder, as it didn’t look like the director or the original actors wanted to return.
One of the people who wrote an early Spider-man 4 script was James Vanderbilt, and only a couple of months ago, it was announced that Sony liked the work he’d done so much (although it wouldn’t fit with a continuation of the Raimi films), that they’d set him to work writing two more Spidey movies. Vanderbilt was essentially already rebooting things, as neither Raimi nor Maguire had any intention of staying with the franchise past part 4. However now, rather than waiting for the release of Spider-man 4, the schedule has been moved up and we’ll be going straight to Vanderbilt’s story, with new actors and director.
The press release about this from Sony reads: ‘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.’ As Sony sent out the release only hours after Raimi is said to have officially left, it sounds like trouble was brewing for some time, and that the studio has been aware for quite a while that they needed a contingency plan. Although details are scant on exactly what the idea behind the reboot is, rumours suggest it heads into Batman Begins territory, with a new origin story, and a more contemporary, gritty feel.
It basically means that the last 18 months, where Raimi and co. have been putting together another Spider-man movie, have been a waste of time, and Sony is going back to what they thought they were going to have to do all along. Although rebooting a franchise as massive as Spider-man is a big gamble, it could pay off for Sony, as the brand still has huge power, and with the massive pay deals needed to get Raimi, Maguire and co. back, Spider-man going back to school should be cheaper to make and hence potentially more profitable.
However that’s all going to depend on who they get to direct the movie and play the major roles, and I’m sure we’re going to hear a hell of a lot more about that over the coming months. Names like Marc Webb ((500) Days Of Summer), Michael Bay and Gary Ross are already being bandied around, although at the moment it’s all complete speculation.
As for Raimi, he already has World Of Warcraft in the works, although as that’s apparently still in the planning stages, he may decide to make his announced adaptation of Dennis LeHane’s The Given Day, or perhaps he’ll do something else entirely.
We’ll let you know more details as soon as we find out.