Spider-Man Reboot: Is it too Soon?
Wednesday, January 20th, 2010
By this point, you have no doubt heard that Sam Raimi has pulled out/been removed from the helm of Spider-Man 4. You’ve probably also heard that as a result, Spider-Man 4 has been scrapped in favor of a series reboot. Chances are, you may have even heard the recent news that 500 Days of Summer’s Marc Webb has been tapped to become the director for the planned first three installments of the reboot. From this news, the question becomes, “Is it time for the series to reboot already?”
The issue of whether or not to reboot the series is made interesting by the first trilogy’s relative youth. The first movie was released in 2002 to enormous success both financially and critically. The second film followed two years later in 2004, and the final part of the trilogy was released just over two years ago. To add to the intrigue, had it not been for Raimi’s inability to rush out the fourth installment of the franchise, we would have seen it next year.
Sources have said that the reason Raimi couldn’t get the fourth installment of the movie out in time for it’s scheduled 2011 release was due to problems that he had with the script. Apparently those problems could not be worked through in a time frame that pleased both Raimi and Sony. As a result, Raimi and his Spider-Man cast have been removed from the future of the franchise.
All that has led us to the point where we get a reboot of the series instead of a continuation. But that still doesn’t really answer the initial question of whether or not a reboot is too soon. The problem is that the question has two sides to it. First, there is a question as to whether or not the franchise can financially support a reboot. Let’s be honest here, Hollywood would be tripping over itself to reboot every money making franchise it could if it could get away with what will ultimately become a ten year (the new Spider-Man is due out in 2012) turn around. But perhaps what is really important to us (unless you lay awake at night worrying about Sony’s head honchos and how they are going to make their next millions) is the second question. Does a series reboot offer anything new to the audience?
The Financial Issue
Indulge me for a moment while I address the first issue. Can the franchise support a reboot of the series? It’s quite easy to see that the franchise has been an overwhelming success for Sony. Domestically, the first three films ring currently ring in at #9, #13, and #18 on the All Time gross charts. Putting aside inflation for a moment, that means that only Spider-Man and Star Wars have three movies from the same franchise in the top 20. If you expand it out to the top 30, you also let the Lord of the Rings trilogy into the party. That’s pretty impressive company.
Obviously, additional movies worked out pretty well for the Star Wars franchise. Not only were all three of the prequel movies in the top 30 domestically, but they all ended up in the top 100 when adjusted for ticket inflation. I doubt many people would consider the choice to make more Star Wars movies a failure financially.
But when we speak about the Spider-Man movie for 2012, we aren’t talking about a prequel or a sequel. This makes it a lot harder to judge the potential success for the next set of movies. And we are also talking about a gap of only five years between the end of one incarnation, and the beginning of another. The closest comparison that I can come up with in this situation is Batman, which saw an eight year gap between the destruction and rebirth of the franchise. It’s pretty safe to say that everything worked out pretty well in that case.
Ultimately I think Batman offers the best lesson in rebooting a franchise. Fitting that it should also belong in the “comics on film” category. The answer to the financial success of the franchise lies in that lesson. The lesson involves the direction, integrity, and entertainment of the franchise. Ultimately, if Batman was relaunched and maintained the same feeling and direction, it would have flopped. But it was given a breath of fresh air that helped it not only survive, but reach incredible new heights.
So the best answer to the financial issue is this: If Sony can find an entertaining take that heads in a new direction for the series, it will continue to succeed financially. If they fail to accomplish that, then the Spider-Man franchise may be dead well before it reaches it’s sixth movie. With the hire of Marc Webb, it’s obvious that the franchise is headed in a different direction. However, it will be important to see how tight of a leash Sony keeps on Webb and Spider-Man. If Warner had limited Nolan’s vision of Batman Begins, where would that franchise be today?
What Does a Reboot Offer Us?
It’s interesting that the question of financial feasibility ultimately comes down to the direction of the new product. Because that’s exactly the issue that has the most effect on the audience. Stick too closely to the original movies and viewers will get a sense of “Been there, Done that”. Stray too far, and you have the risk of turning off your established fanbase.
Before I get too far into asking what the new movies have to offer those of us that are likely reading this article, I do have to point out one advantage that this franchise has with a reboot happening so quickly. Spider-Man is a movie franchise that has succeeded almost entirely because of it’s appeal to younger viewers in addition to the older viewers. The younger viewers are what give the franchise a unique opportunity to succeed with a franchise reboot. It will have been 10 years between the beginnings of the Spider-Man stories. That’s an entire new batch of kids to rope into the adventures of a wise crackin’, web slingin’, young super hero. And if children these days are anything like I was as a child, (I have my doubts, thanks to “quality” entertainment available in this age) then they will not care about the time between movies. They will just be completely excited about new stories. And for some of them, this time it will be completely new.
But obviously, it’s not the children that we are interested in for this article. What can these movies offer us, the readers, that a sequel could not have given us? Or perhaps, what can it offer us that makes me care that the franchise wasn’t just killed off?
First, it’s important to remember that Spider-Man is a comic book. Reboots and different takes are built into it’s very nature. And when you choose to look at it from that direction, (and choose to completely ignore the dollar signs in the eyes of the people making that decision) I believe that it makes the decision a bit more exciting.
Secondly, we have to take a look at the direction that the original trilogy was headed in. From the beginning, it was clear that Raimi’s take was a borderline slapstick action take on the franchise. Which was fine, and it obviously worked out well for everyone involved. However, that style of movie always runs the risk of turning people off. The first two movies garnered solid critical response. They fetched a 90% and 94% freshness rating from Rotten Tomatoes, which judges the average score from reviewers. Meanwhile, the third movie’s rating plummeted to 63%. While that’s still not a terrible score by RT’s standards, it was a far cry from the first two scores.
I would say that the third Spider-Man movie was still a far cry from a complete failure. It had a long way to go to get to the level of something like Batman & Robin. But it was certainly headed in that direction, with the numerous villains included, and the forever increasing number of people aware of Spider-Man’s identity.
With a reboot, what we are offered is a different direction. Given the decision to hire Marc Webb, I hope that Sony has made the decision to allow a more character-centric approach on the story. Less cheese, more drama, similar action. Get the balance just right, and what we are given could easily surpass the original trilogy.
It’s already been mentioned several times around the internet that the new-look Peter Parker could be centered around his High School life. High School was almost an afterthought in the original movie. As if the writers said, “Alright look, we are just going to have to address this issue, so let’s get it over with quickly”. Arguably, that’s the exact opposite of what Spider-Man should be like. It’s quite possible that with the new reboot, that could be rectified.
Another issue that Marc Webb’s Spider-Man has the opportunity to “fix” deals with casting choices. I ultimately had very little to complain about in the casting of the characters in Sam Raimi’s take. However, the choices weren’t exactly all that inspiring, either. The casting in Webb’s big movie, 500 Days of Summer, was pretty much fantastic and spot on. If that is what we can get from Spider-Man, everyone should be pretty pleased with the end result. However, some of the choices may seem odd to begin with. I for one would love to see less big names, and more pure talent.
To go along with a better take on the characters, the other thing that I hope we can get from a reboot is better pacing. I already mentioned the original trilogy’s take on High School. But they continued to fast forward through the shining moments of the Spider-Man story. The relationship and eventual marriage to Mary Jane. Peter’s growth as a hero. It’s all presented on fast forward in the original movies. A reboot has the luxury of slowing things down, and exploring them better.
In Conclusion
If I had my choice, this movie would be centered primarily around Peter Parker’s world, and his growth as a character. Mary Jane may not even make an appearance in the first movie. I wouldn’t have Peter leave high school until at least the third movie. Everything in the movies would be focused solely around character moments. Even the villains would be grounded better in reality ala Nolan’s Batman villains.
That’s the gift that the reboot offers us. The idea of a different trip through the same world. If that is the direction the new trilogy takes, then we are in for a treat. If Sony insists on repeating the tried formula, then it may be harder to find a reason to enjoy the movies. But even so, it isn’t as if each new comic series re-invents the formula. Sometimes you just have to enjoy the story for what it is.
What would it take for you to enjoy a Spider-Man reboot? A re-definition? More of the same? Or something that hasn’t been mentioned?
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In theory, a reboot could possibly work in this case. However, everything I have heard about this project makes me think they are going the absolute wrong direction with it. Additionally, I don’t want this to be successful, because if it works, we’ll most likely be getting a ton of reboots of recent properties since Hollywood always seems to learn the wrong lessons from success.
What have you heard that makes you think they are going the wrong direction? And what is the wrong direction to you?
I’ve heard a few things that make it seems like they want to do “Twilight Spidey” as well as covering a lot of the same ground as the first Raimi Spider-Man. It sounds like more of a rehash rather than a new take on the material.
Do we really need to see the origin story again? That’s what it seems like Sony wants to do with this. Personally, I’m not interested in it. I want to see continuing adventures rather than the same story over and over again.
This movie is still a long way off, and it could end up being really good. I just have a ton of doubts at this point in time.
Twilight Spidey would be hard to do. The problems of Twilight would be hard to repeat in a story like this. Mostly because the problems of Twilight come from the story itself.
And yeah, sure. I wouldn’t mind a new origin story. So long as it’s a fresh take on it. If you are right, and they end up re-treading ground, then yeah, that would suck.
But the way I look at it, which may or may not be clear from the article, is that this is the perfect opportunity for a Spider-Man character piece that takes a slower pace through what I consider the more interesting aspects of the story. High School, the beginnings of the romance(s), and the becoming of a hero.
If that’s not the path they are planning to take, the Marc Webb will probably end up being a bad hire, IMO.
What may lend credit to what you’ve heard, though, is that I’m pretty sure the guy doing the script is the same guy that was doing Raimi’s script that he had so many problems with.
Reboots of the the hulk, batman and superman (although i found the movie boring, it was better than 3 and 4) worked out fine.
I’d like to see spiderman loves mary jane-esk storie told in movie form.
…….Though tbh id rather see a rebooted daredevil first.
The Hulk (Assuming you are discussing the two most recent ones) wasn’t a strict reboot. It didn’t re-tell the origin story. It just sort of picked up and went on with not much mention on whether or not it was considering the first movie cannon. I assume it wasn’t, and I believe that was hinted. But it still wasn’t technically a reboot, I would think.
Superman is a bad example, as it was a critical and financial flop.
Mary Jane Loves Spider-Man is actually what I keep wishing for, except with the focus being more toward Spider-Man. It could also stand to be a little less girlish. But the same basic idea, in that it centers around Peter trying to balance becoming Spider-Man with high school. In fact, if you check out the image I used for this article, it’s from Mary Jane Loves Spider-Man.
Actually Superman Returns has a 73% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, I’d hardly call that a critical flop, The Incredible Hulk fared worse with the critics and the box office (though obviously, Hulk was a smaller budget), and honestly I thought The Incredible Hulk reboot sucked just as bad as the first one, but for different reasons.
I am not looking forward to this reboot, especially with Mark Webb at the helm, his work has not impressed me at all, I think that Raimi could have finished his story, the studio should know not to interfere, they’ve seen what can happen, I still love the first two movies, they have their flaws but they are just os damn fun I can forgive them, same thing with Star Trek and Iron Man. Rebooting it at this time just seems like Sony giving up, it’s pretty lame.
I’m personally happy to see Raimi off the project. The last movie was garbage. Nowhere to go but up.
Anyway, as far as Superman goes, I believe that it was a case of critics being like the audience. At first we were all enamored by the beauty of the majesty of the movie. In the process we were blinded by the fact that there wasn’t much substance under the paint of coat. I guarantee you that if people had to re-review the movie today that the score would be MUCH MUCH lower.
I had a “paint of coat” once. It didn’t spread very well, and it almost made me wish we could edit comments. ;)
I would like to see older peter, teaching, married, avengery. I doubt this would happen due to 1) lack of child interest 2) lack of other avengers 3) wrong timeline with other movies, and confusion ensues.
I’m excited for the movie, but I would much rather have a new sequel than a reboot.
I mean, star trek didn’t reboot after every sucky movie.
1> There isn’t a lack of Avengers, being as how the Avengers movie is like 2-3 years away. I forget the exact date currently. But the point is, they are coming. Assuming Disney doesn’t screw that up.
2> You will never see a Spider-Man included Avenger team as long as Sony owns the rights to Spider-Man. Likewise, you will never see a Wolverine/Avenger team, or a Spider-Man/X-Men combo. Cross studio stuff won’t happen.
Honestly, I’m hyped for this movie. I wasn’t looking forward to Spider-Man 4 at all. So that’s a big improvement for me. I just wasn’t thrilled with the direction the story had taken.
As far as Star Trek? They had so many characters and stories, there was really no need for a reboot. But in any case, every situation is different. In Spider-Mans case, as I said, comics define the word “reboot”.
I kind of wish they went the James Bond route, diiferent cast, different director, not retelling the old story, that’s just kind of lame.
As far as I’m concerned, Spider-Man/Peter Parker is a high school student. He belongs in high school. We’re finally going to get a real Spider-Man film and the Raimi Spider-Mans will be remembered in the same vein as Burton’s Batmans. Spider-Man has no business growing up. That’s why Amazing Spider-Man sucks right now, and Ultimate Spiderman and Spiderman Loves Mary Jane are fantastic. The Spectacular Spiderman animated series is another great example of high school Peter Parker. That’s what I want out of this film and I think that’s what we’re going to get.
Also, I don’t think they’ll retell the origin. I think we’ll see the move start up right after he’s become spider-man and uncle Ben was killed. Maybe a few months after. Similar to the start of TSS.
I think it’ll be much better if they do pick up the movie right after Ben is killed or even later. If they decide to re-tell everything from before being bitten all the way up to Ben’s death, ti would take too much time and would feel like we had already seen it before, even if it is significantly different from Raimi’s version. The only way I could see them squeezing in most of the origin story is to do an opening credits montage similar to Spider-Man 2’s animated credits.
I think that Spider-Man desperately needs the reboot. I enjoyed the 1st movie the 1st time that I saw it. To this day I feel like the second one was the best of the three.
Not being into very many comics I have very little Idea as to the different arcs that the story is in and the relative merits of them.
As to Superman… I liked the new movie, but It could have been so much more, and the finale was slightly anti-climactic.
Now to Hulk…No one can say that the first movie was good at all. It was horrible. I hated it from the moment it started, and that was only furthered by combat poodles. However, I really enjoyed the Incredible Hulk. In fact I think I liked it better at times that Iron Man.
That is all,
Sorry for wasting your time.
I’d be happy just seeing Spidey in Stark Tower… Oh well, I’ll have to stick to poorly photoshopped cuts on fanedit..
I am a little behind on my Amazing Spider-Man (4 issues before brand new day, to be exact,) but when i left off I liked the story line. Did you have a problem with that, or post BND material?
And I agree, if they do a reboot, pleqase skip the origin. And would it be too much to ask for him to tell a joke or two?
I agree that a reboot can be exciting if done right. If they just remake the original trilogy with new actors then what really is the point? A reboot needs to go in a new direction to stay relevant. They certainly did rush the pacing a lot in the original trilogy, especially with the little blip on the radar that was high school.
I remain quietly optimistic that a reboot will be successful and done well, given the recentness of the Raimi interpretations. I’m more excited about this than I would have been about a Spiderman 4. Spiderman 3 wasn’t particularly good, although I agree not quite up there with Batman and Robin (I was thinking of that exact comparison before I got to the bit where you wrote that Randy) so I guess cutting the project off before it had the ability to get to that low point was prob a good thing. Here’s hoping for success and more good stories.
It wont be 2 soon becouse it will take 2 to 3 years to made so It will come out in 2012 or later