Spiderman 4, 5 & 6

[cheebacheeba]

the studio wanted whomever was selling the hottest in comics currentl

That probably wouldn't work...not since the whole "brand new day" thing, a lot has changed that wouldn't go well without explanation.

One can only hope for the rumors that Sony is looking at taking Spider-Man into a grittier direction are just rumors. Gritty ain't what the character is.

Torment, the whole 90's Kaine thing, and The Other.
Gritty can work in the Spider-Man world, and remarkably so...it's not that the character is gritty, it's that he's not, that made those situations work...I'd love to see it, speaking as a fan of the comics.
Spider-Man back at High School? I already read the Ultimate titles, I'm sure they do it better'n this supposed re-spin will.

[_____V_____]

Spider-Man is set to get a new lease of life after Marc Webb signed on as the new director of the successful franchise.

Webb replaces director Sam Raimi, who along with actor Tobey Maguire walked out of Spider-Man 4 over script issues. Webb's previous work includes the critically acclaimed hit romance (500) Days of Summer.

According to Daily Variety, after the film's star and director have departed the project, Columbia executives are planning to make a prequel about Spider-Man's alter-ego, Peter Parker, as a teenager instead, reports Contactmusic.

James Vanderbilt has already written a script for the alternative, which will be produced by Marvel Comics boss Avi Arad and movie mogul Laura Ziskin.

And now with Webb on board, it's only a matter of picking an actor to play Spidey. Last we heard it was Robert Pattinson who is tipped to play nosey Parker.

[cheebacheeba]

I'm ok with Avi Arad stuff though generally...he did most of the spider-man series I liked most. Just thing stepping that far back is a mistake.

[_____V_____]

Once the word broke that 500 Days of Summer’s Marc Webb has been officially inked to direct at least the next Spider-Man movie, if not indeed a whole trilogy, the trades hit with their takes on the story.

Firstly, it seems we can discount all of the casting rumours so far pushed forth because “a project insider said the studio wanted to lock down a helmer before turning its attentions to casting the Marvel superhero”. Of course, every rumour from here on out can’t be discredited in the same way. The wave of gossip and hearsay is only going to come faster and harder from now on. Do bear in mind, though, that the plan is to go for “a cast of relative unknowns”.

There’s also some indication of the first film’s projected budget. Sony have set aside just $80 million for what is bound to be a huge tentpole event. The reduced price tag is probably as good a clue to the studio’s intent in canning Raimi and co. as any other.

An $80 million budget for a superhero film from a major studio. It’s definitely worth some discussion.

The major hurdle in getting Webb’s John Hancock was his existing commitment to Fox Searchlight. It was only after that contract was tidied up that Columbia have been able to get him locked for their franchise.

We’re also being told that the film “will look and feel very different from the big movies that went before it”. These new reports also make it explicit that the basis for the new stories will be “this past decade’s Ultimate Spider-Man comics by Brian Michael Bendis and Mark Bagley where the villain-fighting took a back seat to the high school angst”.

It really is a fresh start, and fresh starts should always bring hope.

[_____V_____]

Actor Zac Efron is set for a 9-million-pound payday for his role as Spider Man. He is set take over the role of Peter Parker in the next Spider Man feature, a well-placed source at Universal Pictures blabbed to Britain’s Daily Star on Sunday.

The High School Musical star will step into Tobey Maguire’s shoes for the fourth blockbuster movie, slated to start shooting later this year and hit theatres in 2012.

Tobey, 34, shocked bosses at Universal Pictures last year when he announced he was quitting the megabucks franchise. “After dumping spidey, Tobey then came to the rescue by recommending that Zac should take over his role,” the Daily Star quoted a studio insider as saying.

Producers of the Spider-Man franchise believe 22-year-old Zac –who has a huge teen following thanks to work with Disney — will bring a new, younger fanbase to the Spider-Man series.

They are also believed to be considering reuniting Zac with his High School Musical co-star Vanessa Hudgens, 21. She is hotly tipped to replace Kirsten Dunst, 27, as Spider Man’s love interest.

“It would be a great coup to land her as well,” a source said.

[Dante'sInferno]

For fucks sake. This is probably going to be horrible.

[ferretchucker]

I wonder if the kids at this high school will break into song. Perhaps Gwen Stacy can be played by Ashley Tisdale. And why not have Harry be played by the kid with the stupid hair?

[The_Return]

Efron I can stomach...as much as I loathe High School Musical, in some backward-ass way I can see him pulling off the smart-ass side of Spidey. I've yet to see him do anything worthwhile, but he gives off the air that he has more in him than we've seen just yet.

However - I see NO potential or talent in Hudgens whatsoever. Far as I can tell she's utterly useless and is just riding the fame wave from that God-forsaken High School Musical franchise. Efron makes me skeptical in the first place, but if Hudgens gets cast I'd be very tempted to skip this one altogether. Blechh.

[Doc Faustus]

17 Again was not quite retarded. Efron might make something of himself. What do you think people thought of half the stars we have today in their first roles? George Clooney was on THE FACTS OF LIFE. If not the worst sitcom in history, it had to be one of the dozen or so worst sitcoms. The Facts of Life tastes like cancer. Compared to High School Musical, which, while retarded, at least gets teenagers interested in participation in the uncool and neglected high school drama programs and has something of a message of acceptance, prepackaged and poorly conceived as it might be. I think he can be Peter Parker. Hudgens doesn't even look vaguely like anybody Peter Parker would be interested in. I recommend the head cheerleader girl from Glee as Gwen Stacey Ultimates style. Because that would be super hot.

[_____V_____]

We have a new friendly neighborhood Spider-Man — and he’s British.

Columbia Pictures confirms that Andrew Garfield, 26, has nabbed the highly sought-after role of Peter Parker after a worldwide search.



Garfield, while largely unknown in the states, is one of the U.K.’s most highly regarded up-and-comers. He appeared in Terry Gilliam’s The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus as well as John Crowley’s Boy A, for which he received a best actor BAFTA in 2008.

He’s been getting heat in the U.S., too. This year the young Brit will be starring opposite Jesse Eisenberg and Justin Timberlake in the Facebook movie Social Network, directed by David Fincher, and will star in the Oscar-bait drama Never Let Me Go opposite Carey Mulligan (An Education) and Keira Knightley.

As recently as yesterday, web speculation was high that 17-year-old Josh Hutcherson (The Kids Are All Right) would land the webslinger role, which was originated on the big screen by Tobey Maguire.