Early this month, production on the anticipated film “Spider-Man 4” was halted as director Sam Raimi clashed with Sony and Columbia Pictures over creative differences. Talks broke down because Sony wanted another record-breaking blockbuster while Raimi wanted to get "back to basics" and make a movie that everyone could enjoy.
Drew McWeeny of HitFix said: "Since that first story ran, I've been hearing some really terrible things about what's going on between Sam Raimi, the studio, and the writers, and I've been starting to wonder if there's any chance they can reach an agreement that will make all involved parties happy."
Sadly no agreement came as first the film's release date of May 11, 2011 was delayed further into the summer before the bomb dropped on the “Spider-Man” franchise.
Nikki Finke and Mike Fleming at Deadline Hollywood confirmed that the director and actor Tobey Maguire left the project entirely.
According to Finke and Fleming’s sources, Raimi told Sony that he cannot make their scheduled release date. The heads of Sony and Columbia Pictures were not fond of the idea of waiting to replace the director, so they will instead reboot the franchise all together.
The studio later confirmed the report in an official announcement that, along with outlining plans to start over with a teenage Peter Parker, indicated that a new "Spider-Man" movie was still planned for 2012.
"Columbia Pictures and Marvel Studios announced 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," reported the studio. "Peter Parker is going back to high school when the next 'Spider-Man' hits theaters in the summer of 2012."
Vanderbilt had written the first draft of "Spider-Man 4" but Raimi didn't like it, so the studio instead asked the writer to make a new script for "Spider-Man 5," which would probably have served as a reboot of the series. That plan has now been brought forward, with Vanderbilt's ideas becoming the fourth film instead.
"I am so proud of what we accomplished with the 'Spider-Man' franchise over the last decade," Tobey 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."
"Working on the 'Spider-Man' movies was the experience of a lifetime for me," Raimi said. "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."
Matt Tolmach, president of Columbia Pictures, said: "We have had a once-in-a-lifetime collaboration and friendship with Sam and Tobey and they have given us their best for the better part of the last decade.This is a bittersweet moment for us because while it is hard to imagine 'Spider-Man' in anyone else's hands, I know that this was a day that was inevitable.
"Now everything begins anew, and that's got us all tremendously excited about what comes next. We have a clear vision for the future of 'Spider-Man' and can't wait to share this exciting new direction with audiences in 2012."
Everyone ready to learn about how Peter Parker becomes Spider-Man again? I hear it has something to do with a spider…
But just because it's a reboot doesn't mean it has to be an origin tale! An ideal reboot would be to return to Peter Parker's high school days, with him already established as the wall-crawler, and simply tell a great "Spider-Man" story from that point forward. Just because there will be a new cast and film-making team doesn't mean everything has to start over.
Does this news break your heart or make you cry for joy? What do you want to see from the reboot? What will you miss most from Raimi's involvement in the franchise? For me...it's the Bruce Campbell cameos.
Next I'll write about who the new director of the franchise is along with what the new vision for the franchise might look like.
