Spider-Man 4

[Mirymate]

Possibly a case of K.I.S.S.- Keep It Simple Stupid. Gwen was very important to Spidey... almost 40 years ago now. She was introduced in 1965, killed in 1973. (Yeah, I had to look it up) The other character introduced from that time, Harry and MJ, are still around, still having new stories made. Most people know Mary Jane as Peter's girl, and barely remember Gwen, or much less her father. An you're right, folks like my brother and I see Gwen Stacy in a Spider-project and in our heads the death-clock starts ticking, not so average Joe movie viewer. On the other hand, start trying to explain to average Joe movie goer with Gwen was important, and their eyes will glaze over as if you were trying to explain why killing Cyclops in X3 was a bad thing.

So in a very real way, the very important role Spectacular Spider-Man has given Gwen is a godsend for her character. My boys now know who Gwen is at least, and have some affection for the character. And if that helps make her a vital, dynamic part of the Spider-verse, so much the better. Otherwise, she's another footnote for Pete to feel guilty about.

[Trekker 42]

Well it seems I need to add to this little thread with this bit of news. Perhaps if we have any italian members, we can get the full truth here. After all, translations can be deceiving.

The Vulture confirmed... for now.

For those who do not want to read the article, John Malkovitch is confirming the Vulture being part of the Spider-Man 4 story and him being the major candidate for said role.

Now I doubt SM4 will stop at a single villain. So who do you think, if the script remains unchanged and Vulture stays in, will be the second? No way they do three. Too much last time. But I don't think the Vulture could hold a movie alone. So I think this will be a two-villain movie.

Personally I'm banking someone who can't hold it alone either. That takes out any more Goblinness (enough anyway) and Mysterio.

If Carnage was going to come, he'd be paired with Lizard probably (due to the Ultimate series linking their stories together which is what SM3 seemed to set up for).

Electro is a possibility. Distinct one at that.

Chameleon I always pictured as being perfect standing beside either a Goblin or Mysterio so again, no.

Shocker? Meh. I'd rather see him like he is in Ultimate series: a one-off joke. Like, Spidey complains that this is the worst he's had to fight in months.

Rhino? Very possibly. After all, the Vulture isn't exactly the best physical villain for Spider-Man. So he'd need someone to kick his ass. Rhino would be glad to oblige.

Kraven? See Rhino with the addition that Kraven would be more of a villain who I would put as the major role and Vulture as the minor one. Kraven has a more interesting story arc and a more interesting character than I ever saw The Vulture with. However, Kraven fits just as well with Rhino and my next list one.

Scorpian? Very possible though I think the Spider-Slayers will come first. After all, JJJ is really going off on Spidey and Scorpian is when he REALLY was driven to the edge. Linking these villains would not be difficult either. After all, Gargan was a PD. Perhaps he was called in on the Vulture case.

Perhaps with the Vulture we are seeing a buildup to the Sinister Six. Taking that view, the one to watch for would definately be Kraven the Hunter. Sandman is alive, Vulture is here, Electro and Myserio would be a great teamup. So all we'd need is an Ock. And they can use another leader if they want.

So my shortlist for Spider-Man 4:

Electro, Kraven.

Longer list: Electro, Kraven, Rhino, Scorpian,

[MINI_MYTE]

Looks like Spider-Man 4 has been scrapped and will be replaced with a reboot in 2012. New cast and crew.

Check it out!

[TM2 Dinobot]

You forgot Black Cat. Probably for the better but Topless Robot says Spidey 4 is on hiatus for now.

[BrobotC]

i will be so glad for this reboot!more minimate!

[karamazov80]

Good choice to reboot, I think. Hopefully very little time will be wasted on origin, and the casting/action/story will be good. Not necessarily in that order.

[NorthRaider]

Let's see...

A second shot at Minimates of villains we should've gotten from the first 2 movies OR another truckload of gratuitous Spidey variants?

Oh wait, I'm supposed to comment on the movie reboot. Silly me and my priorities.

Okay, i can concede that Spider-Man 3 was kind of a train wreck, but another reboot? Really? It's not so much Spider-Man 4 getting stalled in production that gets me riled up, but rather the notion that Sony thinks we absolutely need to get the same story told all over again. I mean, what do they think of us?

[super spider piggy]

Finally! They can get rid of that god-awful "Spiderman Loves Mary Jane but is always to busy to tend to her needs" back story.

[King MiniMate]

Some pretty unfortunate news seeing as how I loved the first two films and even though the third was.....alright, I'm sure they could've fixed it with a good fourth film. This reboot does make me pretty excited to see all the different possibilities though (add Kraven please!).

[TM2 Dinobot]

I hate reboots. I mean, I REALLY HATE REBOOTS! Just... take what you got and move on. You're playing marbles but want to play Tidleywinks? Fine just... Actually I have no solution for that. I just look at Hulk where they said "Yeah, the first one happened but we're just moving on."

[karamazov80]

I'm glad the Hulk got the reboot. Reboot was a much funner, more accessible film, IMO. Same goes for the Star Trek reboot, and Punisher: War Zone. If what was working isn't working anymore, or never worked to begin with, better to start fresh than to keep cranking out mediocre films. Fantastic Four and X-Men could also use reboots, IMO.

[Trekker 42]

Personally I am against this reboot. Mostly because, though the story will be slightly different, it's probably gonna be similar or the same villains as before. Sure, maybe they don't kill Doc Ock and Venom (which was a bad move) but honestly I don't know if Marvel can do a better job than Rami did in the first two. I mean, three was a wreck mostly because of the too many villains problem. Which I beleive that SM4 would have corrected.

I like the established characters. I like most of the established actors. Now I have to try to like it again with a whole new crew?!? Oy... Also the SM villains pool was getting to characters I really wanted to see on the screen. Now I'll probably have to watch another Doc Ock film, another Green Goblin film, another Sandman film (Maybe), another Goblin 2 film, and almost certainly another Venom film (which out of all of them I'd love to see the most) because they want to restart!!! AGH!!! Frustrates me to all get out. Because you know that they will choose one of Spidey's more prominent villains for the reboot and right now those are the Green Goblin, Venom, and Doc Ock. More or less always have been. If they don't want a repeat of Spidey 3, Venom won't be it. But there is no way Mysterio or someone like that will be the next villain! He's not the best known one!

And now we wait until 2012 to see a story we saw ten years before or 8 years before.

Also I doubt they can much improve Spider-Man 2's Ock story! I mean, making him sheer and totally evil would not make him so freakin deep and interesting like he was in SM2!

Personally I think, depending on the cast, it has the possibility to be great. But Spider-Man began my superhero passon. I seriously would not be on this forum today had I not gotten bored in the summer of 2002 and gone to see Spider-Man. That movie was literally lifechanging. And I think, no mattter who they cast and what the story is like, I won't like it nearly as much as the original. Because of the personal connection and the fact that they will probably repeat villains and mostly because it's just NOT NECESSARY.

Rant hat now comes off.

[DarkRedShadow]

i just hope they do not kill every villian at the end of the movie!i also hope james franco will be in it again.i just dont wanna wait 2 more years!

[minimadman]

i just hope they do not kill every villian at the end of the movie!i also hope james franco will be in it again.i just dont wanna wait 2 more years!

I agree one of the biggest mistakes that comic book movies make in terms of be able to maintain a longterm franchise is that they kill the villains. Look at the Batman reboot the only character that they have killed is the one that does continues to rise from the dead. I think that eventually they will have to recast the Joker he is too big a part of the Batman universe to be gone. I really liked Tobey Maguire as Peter Parker but I am open to someone else as long as they are fit the role. Hopefully the Green Goblin will not be dressed like a Power Ranger this time.

[TM2 Dinobot]

Personally I am against this reboot. Mostly because, though the story will be slightly different, it's probably gonna be similar or the same villains as before. Sure, maybe they don't kill Doc Ock and Venom (which was a bad move) but honestly I don't know if Marvel can do a better job than Rami did in the first two. I mean, three was a wreck mostly because of the too many villains problem. Which I beleive that SM4 would have corrected.

I like the established characters. I like most of the established actors. Now I have to try to like it again with a whole new crew?!? Oy... Also the SM villains pool was getting to characters I really wanted to see on the screen. Now I'll probably have to watch another Doc Ock film, another Green Goblin film, another Sandman film (Maybe), another Goblin 2 film, and almost certainly another Venom film (which out of all of them I'd love to see the most) because they want to restart!!! AGH!!! Frustrates me to all get out. Because you know that they will choose one of Spidey's more prominent villains for the reboot and right now those are the Green Goblin, Venom, and Doc Ock. More or less always have been. If they don't want a repeat of Spidey 3, Venom won't be it. But there is no way Mysterio or someone like that will be the next villain! He's not the best known one!

And now we wait until 2012 to see a story we saw ten years before or 8 years before.

Also I doubt they can much improve Spider-Man 2's Ock story! I mean, making him sheer and totally evil would not make him so freakin deep and interesting like he was in SM2!

Personally I think, depending on the cast, it has the possibility to be great. But Spider-Man began my superhero passon. I seriously would not be on this forum today had I not gotten bored in the summer of 2002 and gone to see Spider-Man. That movie was literally lifechanging. And I think, no mattter who they cast and what the story is like, I won't like it nearly as much as the original. Because of the personal connection and the fact that they will probably repeat villains and mostly because it's just NOT NECESSARY.

Rant hat now comes off.

This. I couldn't agree more.

[Trekker 42]

the only character that they have killed is the one that does continues to rise from the dead.

Don't forget about Two-Face. Though he may not be dead. Last we heard, he is.

[karamazov80]

I think that eventually they will have to recast the Joker he is too big a part of the Batman universe to be gone.

I think this is true, but I also think it will be after Nolan leaves and the series gets "rebooted" once again. I figure Nolan might do one, maybe two more, then move away. At least, I hope that he does. Just like anything, you get to the point where things get stale if you stick with the same crew working on the same franchise too long. It inevitably happens, and I hope Nolan quits while he is on top. Would hate to see him release a "Spiderman 3" of the Batman franchise.

And I don't see any reason to bring back Joker in that span of time. There are so many other story-telling avenues, and Nolan did his Joker story. It was a damn good one. Next, he can do something else.

[battlecat]

Because you know that they will choose one of Spidey's more prominent villains for the reboot and right now those are the Green Goblin, Venom, and Doc Ock.

Or they might choose someone completely out of left field, to make it stand out from the old movies, like in Batman Begins.

I think this could be good. I like that it sounds like he will stay a teenager throughout this one, hopefully they will draw on the best parts of Ultimate Spider-Man for ideas. And maybe Spidey will be a bit funnier in costume this time -- that was my only real complaint with Raimi's take on things (pre-SM3).

Edited January 12, 2010 by battlecat

[Trekker 42]

Because you know that they will choose one of Spidey's more prominent villains for the reboot and right now those are the Green Goblin, Venom, and Doc Ock.

Or they might choose someone completely out of left field, to make it stand out from the old movies, like in Batman Begins.

I think this could be good. I like that it sounds like he will stay a teenager throughout this one, hopefully they will draw on the best parts of Ultimate Spider-Man for ideas. And maybe Spidey will be a bit funnier in costume this time -- that was my only real complaint with Raimi's take on things (pre-SM3).

This is true. But it all depends on who they get to direct. If it's a visionary like Nolan or perhaps JJ Abrams, absolutely this will kick some ass. However, if they get someone like Michael Bay, he's going to pick the most blowy uppy villain he can think of. And that would be Electro, Rhino, Doc Ock, or Green Goblin.

Personally I can't say I'm too fond of the high-school angle, surprisingly enough. Probably because I never want to see High-School drama ever again (Senior Year and I'm tired of it). But honestly they'll probably focus a bit too much on the high school than they should. If I want high school drama, I'll go watch Degrassi or something. Give me web-slinging!

And another problem with high school is that they'll have to cast a convincing high-schooler probably meaning they'll cast someone with very little experience. Which is GREAT! However, if they want a big name to do the series, there is only one big-name high school age thing that I can really think of and as Disney owns Marvel, this could just as easily be a Jonas brother as Spider-Man. And that... would destory all faith I have in the film industry.

[Mirymate]

I don't know.

I am not unilaterally against reboots.

And there were things about the Rami/Maguire Spider-Man movies I did not like. Like the Green Ranger Goblin, or Spidey's lack of quipping. And I was never sold on Dunst as MJ.

But like Trekker, I seriously doubt they could improve on Doc Ock. And losing JK Simmons as J.J.J. is a tragedy.

We will see Goblin, Venom, and Ock again though. Little way around it now. While Spidey has a deep bench of villians, most are guys like the Shocker or the Rhino: neat visiuals, but nothing you could make last 2 hours by themselves.

And how this will affect the in-preproduction Venom movie is still unknown.

My expectations are low.

BTW, K80, a Bryan SInger directed X-men: the First Class is in the script phase. Not sure how much of a reboot it's going to be with the Wolverine series ongoing, but it's sure to be at least a minor one, and a complete recast.

Finally! They can get rid of that god-awful "Spiderman Loves Mary Jane but is always to busy to tend to her needs" back story.

Piggy, have you ever actually read a Spider-Man comic? Seriously.

[karamazov80]

BTW, K80, a Bryan SInger directed X-men: the First Class is in the script phase. Not sure how much of a reboot it's going to be with the Wolverine series ongoing, but it's sure to be at least a minor one, and a complete recast.

I forgot about that. I hope they don't try to shoe-horn this into the existing franchise, though, making it a prequel more than a reboot. The original X-Men is supposed to include Iceman and Angel, and after all the garbage with Jean in X3, if they did a prequel you know they would try to throw in numerous references to what she would later become. Better, I think, to imagine yourself in 1963 when writing it--assume the story took place with no foreknowledge of who those characters would become or what they would do. And please, please, please no Wolverine references of any kind. We've already essentially had 3 1/2 Wolverine movies (perhaps the only positive I took away from X3 was that it was slightly less Wolvie-centric than the rest), with more to come, I'm sure. Let's do an X-Men movie completely without him, I say.

[TM2 Dinobot]

Bottom line: Spiderman 3 wasn't great, but it was by no means a franchise killer. If you get delt a bum hand, you keep playing. You don't pack it up and play Monolopy. :/

And for the record, Xmen 3 is my favorite. out of them all. It's by no means the best comic book movie, but it's the best comic book AS a movie, meaning it easily could have been read as well as watched. It was fun and I enjoyed it, and honestly, all they need for Cyc is to have Emma find him. They've already established continuity there.

[NorthRaider]

More info on the reboot: "a grittier, more modern Spider-Man" (eep.)

Honestly my faith in this reboot is diminishing even more. If I wanted to watch a gritty movie about a teen superhero in a contemporary setting, I'll just wait for Kick-Ass to come out later this year.

Bottom line: Spiderman 3 wasn't great, but it was by no means a franchise killer. If you get delt a bum hand, you keep playing. You don't pack it up and play Monolopy. :/

You're playing marbles but want to play Tidleywinks?

Okay, two parlor game analogies in a row?

Edited January 12, 2010 by NorthRaider

[karamazov80]

Daredevil, Punisher, even X-Men to some extent can be "gritty and realistic." I could even see a gritty Captain America film (focusing on WWII, the war on terror, SHIELD espionage, etc.) being gritty and working.

But Spiderman? Gimme a break. That's just as dumb as the "gritty Superman" idea. Yeah, we had Kraven's Last Hunt and a few other dark Spidey stories over the years, but they are the exception and do not remotely define the character. Predictable, however.

Edited January 12, 2010 by karamazov80

[battlecat]

it all depends on who they get to direct. If it's a visionary like Nolan

Unfortunately, given all the reports about the messy relationship between Raimi and Sony, the studio will probably hire someone who just does whatever they tell him to this time around. I gather Nolan has a lot more free reign, which is why we got risks like no Bats on screen for the first chunk of BB and the unlikely casting of Ledger as Joker. And yeah, Bay would be unimaginably bad.

I just hope the script is good. A lot of the SM3 blame gets put down to studio interference, but it also seemed like they shot the thing off a first draft. When you're watching it you can see how it could be a great movie, without that many changes, the potential is clearly there... and yet it's still so bad.

Edited January 12, 2010 by battlecat