So Sony’s James Vanderbilt-scribed ‘Spider-Man’ rebooter is now place with a tentative release date already set, but what direction will the franchise take and what talent will come aboard?
EW is reporting that the “Batman Begins” style reboot will be led by a “gritty” script that places “Peter Parker in a more contemporary setting, as a teenager battling today’s issues.” Basically a “Spider-Man” with a Robert Pattinson/Zac Efron type icon to capture the “Twilight”/”High School Musical” market? Why not? If those awful films can make millions, Sony must be thinking an already established cash-cow franchise going over the same ground will surely work wonders. And all for a fraction of Raimi’s proposed budget for his fourth film.
Talent wise, the likes “(500) Days Of Summer” helmer Marc Webb, “Seabiscuit” director Gary Ross and Michael Bay of explosions and car chases fame are already being linked to the director’s chair. Webb almost won the race to take over Steven Soderbergh’s “Moneyball” project so he already has an established relationship with Sony; Ross worked on the now infamous “Spiderman 4” script and also has a working relationship with the studio; while Bay has simply “expressed interest in the taking over.”
Webb is probably the most inspired choice out of the three but we wouldn’t expect announcements any time soon. The tentative summer 2012 release means the producers have plenty of time to scour Hollywood for its line up, plus they only just cut ties with Raimi and company and resorted to plan B. Whoever they bring on board but will have pretty sizable shoes to fill.
