In recent week news has surfaced that both Sam Raimi and Tobey Maguire will not be involved with the new Spider-man movie.  Disagreements between Raimi and Sony Pictures in the early production resulted in Raimi withdrawing from the project and the studio deciding to move forward without him.  This is not the first time the two butted heads, in the production of the last film, there were similar disputes.  Sony pushed for the character Venom to be apart of the 3rd film, Raimi expressed no interest in the character but gave into the studios demands.  The result lead to a backlash from fans over the mishandling of the character.

With Raimi gone, and Tobey Maguire following soon after,  Sony decided to reboot the entire franchise.

Hey it worked for The Incredible Hulk.

Rumors are spreading around about who will be the new face of Peter Parker.  Already in the front seat is Logan Lerman of “Percy Jackson & The Olympians, The Lightning Thief” and “GAMER.”  A respectable young up and coming actor but can he fill Tobey Maguire’s tights.  Tobey did a tremendous job and it’s hard to imagine Spider-man without him.  He was already a great actor before Spider-man, the franchise just made him a house hold name.

As for Sam Raimi, he did far better than I thought he would when I heard the news he was going to direct the first film nearly 10 years ago.  I love Evil Dead and all but I never imagine he could bring the pages of Spider-man to life like the way he did.  Many have said no other director has shot New York as beautifully as he did in the Spider-man films.

As far as who will direct, names like James Cameron, David Fincher, and Wes Anderson have been thrown around. Recently Columbia Pictures and Marvel studio announced that they had chosen Marc Webb[lol] of (500) Days of Summer as the director.  In a joint statement producers Avi Arad and Laura Ziskin had this to say:

“Over the years, the Spider-Man comics have been told with bold and creative new writers and artists who have re-calibrated the way audiences see Peter Parker. Marc Webb will do for the new direction of the films what so many visionary storytellers have done with the comic books. He is an incredibly talented filmmaker and we look forward to working closely with him on this new adventure.”

On the day of the announcement Webb released his own statement:

“This is a dream come true and I couldn’t be more aware of the challenge, responsibility, or opportunity. Sam Raimi’s virtuoso rendering of Spider-Man is a humbling precedent to follow and build upon. The first three films are beloved for good reason. But I think the Spider-Man mythology transcends not only generations but directors as well. I am signing on not to ‘take over’ from Sam. That would be impossible. Not to mention arrogant. I’m here because there’s an opportunity for ideas, stories, and histories that will add a new dimension, canvas, and creative voice to Spider-Man.”

So what about the old cast?

In an interview with E! Online James Franco and Kirsten Dunst, who played Harry Osborn and Mary Jane Watson in Sam Raimi’s Spidey trilogy, were asked what they thought about the Spider-Man reboot?:

Franco – “It worked out well for Batman, and comics themselves have different artists and writers. I think it’s perfectly fine.  For the viewers you want a little space [between Raimi’s and Webb’s flicks], so you can get everyone else out of your head.”

Dunst – “Sad to see it end. I think for Sam it was time for him to move on, and so we’re all going to move on with him. But we’ve had a good 10 years.”

As far as the contents of the new movie, it is confirmed that it will be in 3D.  Sources have also confirmed that the new film will focus on the more recent Ultimate Spider-man Comics[F@#$!!, wait no..FUCK!!!!].  To many fans this is a tragic bombshell because Ultimate Spider-man BITES THE BIG ONE.

Why, because in Ultimate Spider-man the villain-fighting takes a back seat to the high school angst, “Ultimate Suck-ville” AND ITS GONNA BE IN 3D!!!!!!???

Filming is stated to begin at the end of this year[Wow that was fast.]  The film will be released sometime in 2012.  The question is will we be ready to move on?   Like any good break up all it takes…..is time.

WES ANDERSON, really?  I wonder what that would be like, Hmmm?…

Thanks for reading-

Reservoired Dog

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