In a move that shocked mostly everyone, Sony finally decided that their issues with Spider-Man 4 were not going to be solved in a way that made all parties happy, and, as such, they've decided to scrap the entire thing and reboot the franchise in 2012 with a new director and a new cast.
Speaking via a press release, Spider-Man, Spider-Man 2 and Spider-Man 3 director Sam Raimi said, "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."
The plan now is to take this sucker back to where it all began: an origin story that finds Peter Parker in high school. Surprisingly enough, James Vanderbilt (who was the original writer on Spider-Man 4 before they turned his script(s) into Spider-Man 5 and 6) has already completed the script for what was indeed a reboot of the franchise instead of just a continuation of the character. We don't know much about that script right now, except that Entertainment Weekly compares it to Batman Begins and says it's "gritty, contemporary".
But do we really want a dark Spider-Man franchise? I kinda liked how Spidey was always a bit lighter and more kid-friendly than Batman -- partly because Parker was, in fact, a kid when he first became Spider-Man. Taking the franchise in a grittier direction just wreaks of desperation on the studio's part. Spider-Man was already popular and already a huge success -- there was no reason to take him in a darker direction, in my opinion.
As far as directors go, the first names being batted around include Marc Webb (500 Days of Summer), Gary Ross and, gulp, Michael Bay. I honestly can't see either one of those guys helming the new reboot, but we'll see how it pans out. Perhaps even more important is, who will play the new Spider-Man?
Ahem, Taylor Lautner…anyone?
