No more 'Spidey 4'

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By Ryan Burns

After months of delays and internal conflict surrounding plans for the fourth "Spider-Man" film, Sony and Columbia Pictures have decided to axe the project altogether. Moviegoers need not worry, however, because a reboot of the series is in the works, slated for 2012.

The word is that Sam Raimi, writer and director of the first three "Spider-Man" films, had creative differences with Sony and Colombia, saying he couldn't make a summer 2011 release date while still maintaining the film's "creative integrity."

On the upside for Raimi, this cancellation will give him more time to work on the World of Warcraft film. There were rumors that work on "Spidey 4" could cause delays.

"Spider-Man 3" received mixed reactions from the fan community. Sure, Peter Parker is known as one of the more emotional, if snarky, superheroes. However, fans of the comics have become the biggest critics of Spidey's emo phase in the last film. Those critics will be happy to hear that the new film will be a complete reboot, which means no Raimi, no Tobey Maguire, and no Kirstin Dunst.

"Peter Parker is going back to high school when the next 'Spider-Man' hits theaters in the summer of 2012," said the press release. "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."

Making Spider-Man a high school nerd again is something akin to the Ultimate Spider-Man comic books, which tweaked much of the established canon. Rebooting a comic book movie series is more similar to The Incredible Hulk films, which managed to replace the entire cast and crew without telling another origin story. Hopefully the new Spidey flick can accomplish the same thing, in order to avoid redundancies.

"While we were looking forward to doing a fourth one together, the studio and Marvel have a unique opportunity to take the franchise in a new direction, and I know they will do a terrific job," said Raimi in a statement.

"I am so proud of what we accomplished with the "Spider-Man" franchise over the last decade," Toby Maguire said. "Beyond the films themselves, I have formed some deep and lasting friendships. I am excited to see the next chapter unfold in this incredible story."

Rumors are naturally flying about Maguire's replacement, some even going as far as suspecting Robert Pattinson, who plays Edward Cullen in the Twilight films, as the new web-slinger, though those rumors have been shot down.

So what will the end result be? Your guess is as good as mine, but here's hoping that the trend of comic book movies getting better and better holds true. The first three movies made around $1 billion combined, and with the realm of possibilities that opens up with a reboot, the potential for greatness is there. Let's hope the cast and crew can keep up.

Originally Published: Issue 860 - January 20, 2010

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