Spider-Man 4 canned. Current franchise dead. Reboot in 2012 with no Raimi

[bork]

Is this really going to be a reboot in the sense that they are going to retell Spider-Man's origin story?  SMH.

[Howard Alan Treesong]

What kind of engines are on this suck train, anyhow?

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OH SHI--

[AdmiralViscen]

I don't get this. Just let Raimi do what he wants. Why go against the creative force that got you to Spider-Man 4 in the first place, because it didn't really work out the last time around.

Oh well, Raimi was an idiot for taking the money anyway.

lol, I wish I'd seen this during the Avatar Wars

[ManaByte]

Spider-Man: Summer 2012: Peter Parker is going back to high school when the next Spider-Man hits theaters in the summer of 2012.

Holy Crap!  They're rebooting the series, starting from scratch.  Word on the street is that Raimi is out too.
 

http://www.deadline.com/hollywood/urgent-spider-man-4-scrapped-as-is-raimi-and-cast-out-franchise-reboot-planned/

EXCLUSIVE: 'SPIDER-MAN 4' SCRAPPED; SAM RAIMI & TOBEY MAGUIRE & CAST OUT; FRANCHISE REBOOT FOR 2012



BREAKING NEWS! 2ND UPDATE: Mike Fleming and Nikki Finke have just confirmed that Sony Pictures decided today to reboot the Spider-Man franchise after franchise director Sam Raimi pulled out of Spider-Man 4 because he felt he couldn't make its summer release date and keep the film's creative integrity. This means that Raimi and the cast including star Tobey Maguire are out. There will be no Spider-Man 4. Instead, Mike Fleming is told, the studio will focus on a Summer 2012 reboot from a script by Jamie Vanderbilt with a new director and a new cast. All this took place today at meeting on the lot today. An official Sony Pictures news release about it is expected out now (see below).

Immediately, the news brought celebration and consternation equally to webslinger fanboys who say the reboot plot puts Peter Parker back in high school. There's also much unconfirmed speculation that this new franchise will be in 3D. And the fans also recall that, in 1991, James Cameron wrote a treatment for Spider-Man and now they're wondering if he might helm the reboot. (Sony ended up acquiring his treatment in a legal settlement.)

Here's what went down: My sources tell me that Raimi told Sony Pictures: "I can't make your date. I can't go forward creatively." And, so, once he said "That's it", Sony Pictures co-chairman Pascal and Columbia Pictures' Matt Tolmach decided they didn't want to replace him and instead chose to reboot the franchise. Insiders also tell me that Tobey Maguire heard the news in a phone call with Amy today. I'm told Tobey wasn't upset. "He's made 3 great Spider-Man movies. He's done really well. But he's the kind of guy who, if Sam wanted to go forward, would have been there for Sam and the studio. Absolutely."

Mike Fleming has heard that, from Spidey, Raimi could move to World Of Warcraft, or to The Given Day, that terrific novel by Dennis Lehane, author of Shutter Island and Mystic River. Both are worthy projects, but World Of Warcraft is a huge franchise.

Fortunately for the studio, Sony was not yet "pay or play" on some of the talent negotiations which were still only at the tail end. Raimi was insisting that John Malkovich play the villain, and the studio was looking to cast Anne Hathaway. "I'm not so sure we're going in that direction," an insider told me on January 5th. Sony had been hot for her until bigwigs realized she'd cost too much and they probably don't need "such a big star" for the pic, I was told. (See my previous, Anne Hathaway Wanted For 'Spider-Man 4'.)

As for those repeated rumors that Spider-Man 4 might shoot in 3D, I've learned it would have added at least 6 months to the production schedule and "no one on the pic has any idea how to do that," a source confided. You've got to figure 3D now is uppermost on Sony minds given the post-Avatar climate, and Summer 2012 is more than enough time to make the reboot with new technology. Back in April, Sony Pictures' co-chairmen Amy Pascal and Michael Lynton told Forbes magazine: "People are paying a premium to see movies in 3-D and that's a very big deal. It's never been done before that someone says you have to pay more to see Spider-Man than a romantic comedy."

The events that led to today's shocking decision to scrap Spider-Man 4 can be traced to mid-December when I saw a December 11th email alerting the pic's special effects crew that the fourquel would not be starting as planned "but Sam Raimi has story issues [that] need to be resolved before we are ready to shoot". At that point, it wasn't well known that the Spider-Man franchise director helming the 4th installment had huge problems with the script that has run through screenwriters Jamie Vanderbilt, David Lindsay-Abaire, and Gary Ross. I was told Sam Raimi had been very vocal inside Sony that he "hated" it. I broke this story on January 5th, and reported that Raimi and Sony were anxiously waiting for still another version from screenwriter Alvin Sargent, who wrote Spidey 2 & 3 and is married to Spidey franchise producer Laura Ziskind. "It is unlikely that May 11, 2011, date will be made," a Sony insider told me that day. "It depends on how quickly the script can get in." However, agents told clients in the movie to already expect the film to be pushed back.

My sources said Sony still intends to release that summer, even if the new date is July 2011. But Spider-Man has always owned that coveted early May date. Even as far back as September 2008 when I reported my exclusive that Sony Locks Sam Raimi/Tobey Maguire For 'Spider-Man 4'.

What a giant opportunity for other studios planning their 2011 schedules to grab this big opening. And they did. Paramount and Marvel Entertainment pushed up the release of Thor by two weeks to May 6, 2011. Thor was set to have opened May 20, 2011, a slot which Disney grabbed for Pirates of the Caribbean 4: On Stranger Tides.

Spider-Man 4 was supposed to start filming in February, which Tobey Maguire echoed repeatedly in publicity appearances for Brothers. Then it pushed to March. Then late March/early April. And by January 5th there was no date at all, according to my Sony insiders who emailed me: "Some decisions have been made over the holiday about Spider-Man 4. We will be extending the production hiatus on the film. The studio is firmly committed to this franchise but, for us, the script must come first. We intend to notify members of the crew immediately. As you know, Alvin Sargent is currently working on the screenplay. When we have more news, we will keep you posted."

Pascal and Tolmach, who have shepherded the Spider-Man franchise from Day One, have been wrestling with this script problem for months. "I'm going to do everything I can to make May," she has repeatedly told Hollywood types involved with the movie. "But I'm not going to start a movie where the script isn't right yet. Not unless I want my career to be over."

Here is the Sony press release:

    Culver City, CA (January 11, 2010) -- Peter Parker is going back to high school when the next Spider-Man hits theaters in the summer of 2012. 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.

    The new chapter in the Spider-Man franchise produced by Columbia, Marvel Studios and Avi Arad and Laura Ziskin, will have a new cast and filmmaking team. Spider-Man 4 was to have been released in 2011, but had not yet gone into production.

    “A decade ago we set out on this journey with Sam Raimi and Tobey Maguire and together we made three Spider-Man films that set a new bar for the genre. When we began, no one ever imagined that we would make history at the box-office and now we have a rare opportunity to make history once again with this franchise. Peter Parker as an ordinary young adult grappling with extraordinary powers has always been the foundation that has made this character so timeless and compelling for generations of fans. We’re very excited about the creative possibilities that come from returning to Peter's roots and we look forward to working once again with Marvel Studios, Avi Arad and Laura Ziskin on this new beginning,” said Amy Pascal, co-chairman of Sony Pictures Entertainment.

    “Working on the Spider-Man movies was the experience of a lifetime for me. 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 Sam Raimi.

    “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,” said Matt Tolmach, president of Columbia Pictures, who has served as the studio’s chief production executive since the beginning of the franchise. “Now everything begins anew, and that’s got us all tremendously excited about what comes next. Under the continuing supervision of Avi and Laura, 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.”

    "Spider-Man will always be an important franchise for Sony Pictures and a fresh start like this is a responsibility that we all take very seriously," said Michael Lynton, Chairman and CEO of Sony Pictures. "We have always believed that story comes first and story guides the direction of these films and as we move onto the next chapter, we will stay true to that principle and will do so with the highest respect for the source material and the fans and moviegoers who deserve nothing but the best when it comes to bringing these stories and characters to life on the big screen."

    The studio will have more news about Spider-Man in 2012 in the coming weeks as it prepares for production of the film.

[Howard Alan Treesong]

Spider-Man suck train has RE-RAILED

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Spider-Man fans also railed

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[Diunx]

Just give the franchise to Cameron, I want the spider web sex scene in 3d

[The Fake Shemp]

Good for Raimi. Now when can watch World of Warcraft sabotage his career instead.

[Joe Molotov]

Evil Dead 4: Drag Me to Hell 2

[Howard Alan Treesong]

Good for Raimi. Now we can watch World of Warcraft sabotage his career instead.

Looking forward to it!

[The Fake Shemp]

Warcraft will turn out to be worse than Spidey 3. Has there ever been a truly great videogame adaptation, the incredibly cheesy and merely entertaining Mortal Kombat excluded?

[BobFromPikeCreek]

Good stuff. Here's hoping WoW tanks so he doesn't get tied to making assloads of sequels.

[Stoney Mason]

I'm tired of reboots and I'm tired of Spiderman. Give the franchise a rest please.

Especially after the shit that was #3.

[Howard Alan Treesong]

Warcraft will turn out to be worse than Spidey 3. Has there ever been a truly great videogame adaptation, the incredibly cheesy and merely entertaining Mortal Kombat excluded?

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[brawndolicious]

^Why does he have two swords, shouldn't one of them be a dagger?

[fistfulofmetal]

I think Silent Hill is the best video game adaptation and is a a fairly good movie.

[brawndolicious]

The Hitman movie was good, shallow entertainment.

The Book of Eli basically looks like Fallout 3 too so that should count.

[Stoney Mason]

I think Silent Hill is the best video game adaptation and is a a fairly good movie.

You won't find a lot of people who agree with this opinion but I actually do. A genuinely good and weird horror movie. 

[Purple Filth]

stolen from gaf

the story for part 4 included a baby and the script was "legendarily awful."

i guess a bullet was dodged then.

[The Fake Shemp]

There's no chance of that happening, Green Man.

[The Fake Shemp]

I'm saying that you cannot act and that the rights are not reverting back to Marvel anytime soon.

[Fresh Prince]

And write it as well.

I hope they get Zac Efron to play Peter Parker.

[The Fake Shemp]

I hope you keep it to yourself, because I'd hate for someone to steal it from you.

[Howard Alan Treesong]

stolen from gaf

the story for part 4 included a baby and the script was "legendarily awful."

i guess a bullet was dodged then.

How bad does a script have to be for even Hollywood to think it sucks?

[Cormacaroni]

A reboot? really? Can't they just assume that everybody knows how he got to be Spider-man by now and just skip to the good bits? It's a good story but really, just do a splash intro with 'Dork bit by radioactive spider! Stood by while uncle was murdered! Fights crime!' and call it good.

[demi]

[youtube=560,345]IwnoW6g-wtA[/youtube]

[Howard Alan Treesong]

I'm going to send the idea over to Sony tomorrow after I talk to a lawyer.

I hope you're being sarcastic? No one at Sony will ever speak to you, ever. Also they already have their idea, that's why they put out the press release.

[Fresh Prince]

I hope you keep it to yourself, because I'd hate for someone to steal it from you.

Green Shinobi

[Howard Alan Treesong]

You should make a Millar hero:

"He's like Spider-Man, only he was bitten by a praying mantis. His name is The Mantis. THINK ABOUT IT."

[Cormacaroni]

C'mon Green Man, let's hear it. Clones? Spider-GIRL? High-school Spidey in an alternate new universe?

All major new approaches ust waiting to be exploited IMHO.

[Oblivion]

Maybe it'll be good this time.

[Howard Alan Treesong]

Seriously, though, what's your idea.

[Eric P]

You should make a Millar hero:

"He's like Spider-Man, only he was bitten by a praying mantis. His name is The Mantis. THINK ABOUT IT."

what if the punisher, instead of killing killers, raped rapists?  think about it

[Howard Alan Treesong]

[youtube=560,345]IwnoW6g-wtA[/youtube]

Demi, FOR YOU: http://zoomzip.clunkbin.com/zoomzip_vs_thatbestbuycommercial.mp3

[Howard Alan Treesong]

You should make a Millar hero:

"He's like Spider-Man, only he was bitten by a praying mantis. His name is The Mantis. THINK ABOUT IT."

what if the punisher, instead of killing killers, raped rapists?  think about it

Actually this is a good idea for a porno called SEXTER.

[Howard Alan Treesong]

My idea is that Spider-Man is actually a spider with the proportional strength of a human.

[Cormacaroni]

C'mon Green Man, let's hear it. Clones? Spider-GIRL? High-school Spidey in an alternate new universe?

All major new approaches ust waiting to be exploited IMHO.

Okay so here's the idea:

An older Peter Parker is still working at the daily bugle (though in a high paying position) when he finds out that a teenaged co-worker, much like himself back in the day, needs a bone marrow transplant. So him and everyone else at the Bugle give blood to see if they're a match and sure enough, Peter is. Now Peter being a man of science and reason knows that he runs the risk of giving his spider-powers to this young lad but what's he going to do, say no and look like a total dickface? I don't think so.

So peter goes through with it and sure enough kid get's spider-man powers and puts it all together. He confronts Peter one day, who admits that he's spider-man and that he feels like he can't be anymore. Constantly putting a strain on is relationship with Mary Jane, Peter realizes that he just can't be the Husband he needs to be and the hero everyone depends on (its one or the other).

Peter offers his iconic costume to said teenager, who accepts seeing this opportunity as the reason he's still alive (fate and all that).  Peter begins to show him the ropes, and our new hero's story begins....

SPIDER-MAN: A NEW BEGINNING

In other words, the She-Hulk origin story.

[Cormacaroni]

Better to hear it from me than the suits at Sony though. That could have gotten ugly.

[Joe Molotov]

In my Spider-Man script treatment, Spider-Man and Mr. Fantastic are running some experiments with CERN's Large Hardon Collider when they open a black hole that sucks up Spider-Man and spits him out in Gotham City and he has to fight Batman. Also Wolverine is in it.

[Olivia Wilde Homo]

I'm tired of reboots and I'm tired of Spiderman. Give the franchise a rest please.

Especially after the shit that was #3.

I'm tired of studios stating that these will be trilogies.  Then a year or two later they basically say, "lol, we're just kidding, here's a fourth one."

See: X-Men Origins, Spider-Man 4, Pirates of Caribbean 4, etc.

I thought the Spiderman movies were overrated.  The third one was bad but the second one gets overrated a lot.  Just because a comic book movie doesn't make you cringe in how corny it is doesn't make it awesome.  I liked it but some are calling it the greatest comic book movie out there.  No, no it isn't.

[Fresh Prince]

My Spider-Man origin story would be as follows. The African spider God\thing Anansi comes to America, has an affair and impregnates a married white woman. The unknowing husband thinks the child is his until of course the child is born. He eventually is driven mad and decides to kill him and his wife while driving his car. Nobody wants to do anything with the child so Anansi takes pity on him and becomes Uncle Ben (of rice fame) and I give up. 

[Howard Alan Treesong]

My Spider-Man origin story would be as follows. The African spider God\thing Anansi comes to America, has an affair and impregnates a married white woman. The unknowing husband thinks the child is his until of course the child is born. He eventually is driven mad and decides to kill him and his wife while driving his car. Nobody wants to do anything with the child so Anansi takes pity on him and becomes Uncle Ben (of rice fame) and I give up. 

so the J. Michael Straczynski Spider-Man, then

[Fresh Prince]

Really? No idea is original  :'(

[Mr. Gundam]

You should make a Millar hero:

"He's like Spider-Man, only he was bitten by a praying mantis. His name is The Mantis. THINK ABOUT IT."

Only if he can be called Mantis Toboggan, M.D.

[Olivia Wilde Homo]

My idea for Spiderman is that Mary Jane dies in some comic fashion.  Due to the tragedy, Peter Parker realizes he can never love a woman like her ever again.  So he becomes gay.

The title would be "The Adventures of Gay Spiderman."

[Fresh Prince]

My Anansi idea could still work. A mulatto struggling with his African and American identity, his uncle's presumed death and his ascent into the presidency.

[Fresh Prince]

I really would like a reboot\origins story for the Phantom.

[Diunx]

In my Spider-Man script treatment, Spider-Man and Mr. Fantastic are running some experiments with CERN's Large Hardon Collider when they open a black hole that sucks up Spider-Man and spits him out in Gotham City and he has to fight Batman. Also Wolverine is in it.

wtf dude!!? that's my Deadpool vs Batman idea!!!, only that the mad thinker is the one that sends deadpool to the dc universe, since he failed a job he had to do for AIM and agreed to let them run experiments on him for a week instead of returning the half of the money he already got.

[recursivelyenumerable]

Beyond reboots, is there a "format and reinstall" analog for entertainment franchises?

[Howard Alan Treesong]

My idea for Spiderman is that Mary Jane dies in some comic fashion.  Due to the tragedy, Peter Parker realizes he can never love a woman like her ever again.  So he becomes gay.

The title would be "The Adventures of Gay Spiderman."

That would be Spider-Man: Reign, where Mary Jane dies from cancer caused by Peter Parker's radioactive sperm. Once more, with feeling:

Mary Jane dies from cancer caused by Peter Parker's radioactive sperm.

It's stated outright he gave up on women after that; making him gay isn't much of a stretch.

[Fresh Prince]

So in essence when evilboreans try to be funny = comic book writers try to be dramatic.

[The Fake Shemp]

Most comic book writers are terrible, and I say that having no writing talents of my own and having known quite a few authors. I like my funny books, but have you read most of the stuff Marvel and DC publish? It's terrible.

[Fresh Prince]

Nah it would explain why I did not realise Spider-Man was retconned into a magik user. Except for Deadpool but then I gave up on him too.

[Howard Alan Treesong]

The "money shot" from Spider-Man: Reign

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[Fresh Prince]

Kosma = Spider-Man?

[The Fake Shemp]

Jesus, how many times do you have to cum inside someone to give them radiation poisoning?

[Great Rumbler]

The "money shot" from Spider-Man: Reign

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[BobFromPikeCreek]

EVERY FLUID.

[The Fake Shemp]

That's up there with JMS trying to sell us that Gwen Stacy was banging Norman Osborn and carried his mutant babies to term.

[Howard Alan Treesong]

Forget about this "back to high school" half-assed reboot. If we're turning back the clock, what we REALLY need is to take Spider-Man back to the 1950s, when we can see sexy 17-year-old flower child Aunt May boyfriend-swap Uncle Ben with Peter Parker's parents. All teens, all fucking, all the time!

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[Fresh Prince]

See some of us can make it as comic book writers.