Remember way back in 2008 when Sony announced that Spider-Man 4 was a go and Sam Raimi was back at the helm? Dylan Baker was finally going to transform from Doc Connors to The Lizard. John Malkovich was in talks to play the Vulture and Anne Hathoway was going to become Felicia Hardy's feline alter ego The Black Cat.
(Too bad she never got the chance to wear those black tights and seduce a hero with her...on second thought, never mind.)
Back to the lecture at hand. I loved the 1st two Spider-Man flicks, still do! Hell I don't even hate 3! Is it great? No. But it's certainly not awful (see, Halle Berry's Catwoman). But after the poor reception of the 3rd film the future of the franchise was in question. That's why in 2008 when the news of a 4th film broke and it was also mentioned that films 5&6 would be extensions of one another and filmed simultaneously I was cautiously optimistic. Turns out my caution was warranted.
Sony, Raimi or maybe both had put the cart way before the horse. The studio and films creative team could not see eye to eye and in the end, Raimi and crew were essentially fired. Spider-Man on the big screen was DOA and I for one was more than disappointed. But just like death in comic books, didn't last long.
Soon after, it was announced that the franchise was to be rebooted under the Amazing Spider-Man tag line. The movie was released in 2012 and was a critical and commercial success, putting a different spin on the old familiar tale and it wasn't long before the sequel was anounced. Now, just weeks into shooting Sony has had casting problems (Woodely who was to play Mary Jane Watson will be recast and the character has even been cut from ASM 2 altogether) and has already announced ASM 3&4. Where have I heard this before?...Oh yeah, 5 years ago when Sony dropped the ball with the previous franchise!
I'm generally a positive person but this news is troubling at best. Spider-Man is my favorite Super Hero and the thought of his film franchise being bungled again just doesn't sit well with me. I hope Sony has learned from it's previous debacle and is not embarking on a "real life" Spider-Man Clone Saga because we all know that those do not end well!
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