In terms of essentially the most disappointing comedian e-book motion pictures that had been deliberate however by no means produced, which one tops the record? Is it Tim Burton’s Batman Continues? Guillermo del Toro’s Physician Unusual? Maybe JJ Abrams’ Superman: Flyby? Nah, there’s just one right reply: the ungodly spate of cancelled Spider-Man motion pictures. That’s proper! All of it begins with Tobe Hooper and Joseph Zito’s ill-fated try for Cannon Movies within the mid-80s, adopted by James Cameron’s failed try to group together with his Titanic star, Leonardo DiCaprio, to play the function of Peter Parker, earlier than DiCaprio’s good pal Tobey Maguire gained the half for Sam Raimi. Then there’s Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 4, a challenge that continues to gas rumors greater than 15 years after it was declared lifeless by Sony Footage. In fact, with Drew Goddard’s Sinister Six spin-off and Dangerous Bunny’s El Muerto additionally being lifeless on arrival, the central query looms: what occurred to each cancelled Spider-Man film to date?
All of it goes again to 1985. That 12 months, famed indie producer Roger Corman misplaced the movie rights to Spider-Man. As soon as Marvel Comics optioned the property to Cannon Movies with the stipulation {that a} Spider-Man movie have to be produced by 1990, it thought of iconic horror grasp Tobe Hooper to direct. Busy with Invaders from Mars and The Texas Chainsaw Bloodbath 2, Hooper was changed by Joseph Zito following his work on Cannon Movies’ epic Chuck Norris motion flick Invasion USA. Zito employed The Outer Limits scribe Leslie Stevens to pen a Spider-Man story, which was so mortifying and off-brand that Stan Lee grew to become irate and instantly demanded rewrites. The story would have concerned Peter Parker being focused by a nefarious scientist who injects the shy photographer with a radioactive serum, mutating him into a large, furry, eight-legged human-tarantula. As soon as Spider-Man, below his hideous new visage, refuses to hitch the scientist’s mutant master-race, Peter Parker fights again and tangles with a number of mutated monsters inside a laboratory.
For hardcore horror hounds, that remedy sounds heavenly. Alas, Stan Lee was so incensed about how Stevens defiled and bastardized his beloved comedian e-book character that he demanded a brand new story be written. Cannon caved and tapped Ted Newsom and John Brancato to put in writing a brand new script, which featured a Spider-Man origin story. The plot involved Peter Parker and his mentor, Physician Octopus, who grew to become deformed by the Cyclotron in an try to unlock the Fifth Drive. Golan and Barney Cohen made just a few script adjustments, and Cannon allotted roughly $15-20 million for Zito to make the movie. Though the movie by no means reached the casting part, Tom Cruise, a then up-and-comer, was thought of to play Peter Parker. Bob Hoskins was reportedly thought of for Doc Ock, Katherine Hepburn and Lauren Bacall had been within the operating for Aunt Might, and Peter Cushing was thought of to play a compassionate scientist. In the meantime, Stan Lee expressed curiosity in portraying J. Jonah Jameson.
Imagine it or not, Superman tragically killed Spider-Man on the large display screen with out even realizing it. Certainly, Cannon’s 1987 launch of Superman IV: The Quest For Peace was such a crucial and business failure for Cannon Movies that it may now not afford to supply Spider-Man on the agreed-upon funds. Slashing the price to $10 million, Zito left the challenge over artistic variations. The movie lingered in purgatorial limbo for the following three years, with much less cash and much inferior expertise connected. The script grew to become so unsalvagably terrible that the film couldn’t transfer ahead. Then got here the promise of a James Cameron Spider-Man film after Cannon Movies misplaced the rights.
In 1990, Carolco Footage bought the movie rights to Spider-Man for $5 million from Menahem Golan. James Cameron, who delivered the mega-hit Terminator 2 for Carolco a 12 months later, was employed to put in writing, direct, and produce a a lot darker, grittier, R-rated model of the Spider-Man mythology. This occurred whereas Cameron was ending True Lies, with Selection reporting that Cameron wrote a brand new Spider-Man screenplay. Nonetheless, it was merely a recycling of the script Newsome and Brancato wrote for Cannon Movies with Cameron’s identify added. Months later, Cameron delivered an in depth 57-page script/remedy dubbed a “Scriptment,” which has since leaked on-line, detailing Peter Parker’s a lot darker origin as Spider-Man.
Many years earlier than Christopher Nolan put a darkish spin on cinematic superhero lore, Cameron’s idea for Spider-Man was a violent, horny, R-rated reimagination. His story would have entailed Spider-Man taking over Electro and Sandman as the first archenemies. Character alterations included altering Electro’s alias from Max Dillon to Carlton Strand, and Sandman from Flint Marko to Boyd. Plot-wise, Cameron’s model would have concerned Sandman being mutated by chance in an atomic experiment gone haywire, with citywide blackouts and unusual magnetic phenomena climaxing atop New York’s World Commerce Middle. Spider-Man would fend off Electro and Sandman earlier than revealing his true id to Mary-Jane Watson. The movie would have featured intense violence, extreme profanity, and a graphic intercourse scene between Peter and Mary-Jane on the Brooklyn Bridge.
Though casting by no means grew to become official, Cameron wished Leonardo DiCaprio to play Peter Parker, whom he’d quickly work with on Titanic. Cameron additionally reportedly eyed Nikki Cox and Robyn Full of life to play Mary Jane, Jim Carrey to play Norman Osborn, aka The Inexperienced Goblin, Lance Henriksen as Carlton Strand, aka Electro, Michael Biehn as Boyd, aka Sandman, Invoice Paxton because the Burglar, Maggie Smith as Aunt Might, and Michael Douglas and R. Lee Ermey as J. Jonah Jameson. In the meantime, Cameron’s longtime buddy, Arnold Schwarzenegger, was set to make a cameo as Dr. Otto Octavius, which might have arrange Physician Octopus for future spinoffs. In fact, Jim Carey went on to play The Riddler in Batman Without end, and Schwarzenegger quickly went on to star as Mr. Freeze in DC’s Batman & Robin.
Cameron’s model of Spider-Man endured numerous drafts, whereas retaining components from his idea and the Newsome/Brancato script. Ethan Wiley did a go involving Peter embarking on a hallucinatory, Kafkaesque odyssey after being bitten by a poisonous spider. Neil Ruttenberg wrote a draft involving a violent hijacking of the New York Inventory Alternate. Author Frank LaLoggia had an thought a couple of flurry of money raining down on New Yorkers as a solution to start the story. Though Carolco prolonged Golan’s rights to Spider-Man via 1996, Carolco went bankrupt and needed to pull the plug on James Cameron’s Spider-Man in 1992.
A prolonged authorized battle ensued in courtroom, the boring particulars of which we’ll mercifully spare you all. By 1999, Columbia and Sony Footage Entertainment acquired the rights to Spider-Man, with Sam Raimi helming a profitable trilogy with Tobey Maguire within the title function. As you already know, some features of Cameron’s script crossover with Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy, notably Sandman’s villainous arc.
As for Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 4, it began within the spring of 2007. Raimi’s Spider-Man 3 opened in theaters on Might 4, 2007, and obliterated the field workplace competitors, turning an estimated $250 million funds into a large $894 million worldwide moneymaker. But, regardless of the tepid reception from critics and followers of the primary two franchise entries, Sony felt adequate in regards to the economics to supply a fourth Spider-Man movie.
In 2008, growth on Spider-Man 4 formally commenced, with Raimi connected to direct as soon as extra and the principle solid slated to return to their iconic roles, together with Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst. In October 2008, Sony employed screenwriter James Vanderbilt to amend the script after David Koepp was contacted. Bear in mind, Koepp wrote the screenplay for Raimi’s first Spider-Man film. Though Koepp declined, Vanderbilt’s script was revised by famed playwright David Lindsay-Abaire. In March 2009, Sony introduced on their Twitter account that Spider-Man 4 can be launched in theaters on Might 6, 2011. Shortly after, the movie formally went into pre-production with Sony’s blessing.
By October 2009, Gary Ross was employed to rewrite the script. Nonetheless, the principle cause Spider-Man 4 by no means acquired made got here from Raimi’s deep dissatisfaction with the assorted iterations of the script and the shortage of a compelling story. Raimi already detested how Spider-Man 3 turned out, calling it “Awful,” and despising how he was all however pressured to incorporate Venom as a villain within the film when he felt Sandman and New Goblin had been ample.
Whereas growing Spider-Man 4, Raimi expressed early curiosity in showcasing Dr. Curt Connors’ full transformation into Lizard, a distinguished Marvel villain. On the time, Dylan Baker was slated to reprise his function as Connors. In December 2009, after Sir Ben Kingsley was briefly thought of, it was reported that John Malkovich was being eyed to play Vulture as the first villain in Spider-Man 4. Quickly after, Anne Hathaway was in talks to star as Felicia Hardy, aka Black Cat, the infamous Marvel cat burglar who typically toes the road between heroism and villainy. Sarcastically, Hathaway would go on to play Black Cat’s DC counterpart, Selina Kyle, aka Catwoman, in Christopher Nolan’s The Darkish Knight Rises.
Though Raimi was impressed with Hathaway’s audition as Black Cat, Kate Beckinsale was additionally within the operating and even carried out a read-through with Tobey Maguire. Nonetheless, Raimi was holding out hope for Angelina Jolie to play the function. In keeping with Raimi’s longtime storyboard artist, Jeffrey Henderson, within the Motion pictures Go Fourth podcast, he was instructed to make use of Jolie’s visage for the storyboards throughout pre-production. Bruce Campbell, Raimi’s lifelong good friend and collaborator who made hilarious cameos within the first three Spider-Man motion pictures, was reportedly slated to painting iconic Marvel supervillain Mysterio in Spider-Man 4. In keeping with Henderson, Mysterio would have appeared as a part of a gap montage that depicts Spider-Man capturing numerous D-grade villains such because the Shocker, the Prowler, the Stilt-Man, and the Rhino. The sequence would have ended with Peter Parker bringing Mysterio into police custody, the place Campbell would campily decry, “I’ll get you, Spider-Man!” Another scene would have discovered Peter arriving at Aunt Might’s house for dinner. Aunt Might would apologize, saying, “Oh, Peter, I completely forgot about tonight.” As Peter says, “It’s okay, Aunt May,” and pushes his manner via the door, Bruce Campbell would have immediately appeared within the house, and given followers a hilariously awkward second. Now go and hearken to the podcast for the complete particulars on how the scene would have transpired.
Regardless of the preparation that went into Spider-Man 4, together with storyboards and constructed units, Raimi was merely uninterested in negotiating with the large company calls for that go into making such an costly superhero film. A part of Raimi’s reluctance stemmed from Sony’s 2010 mandate to make the movie a 3D spectacle as a solution to capitalize on the mega-success of Avatar and the following bevy of post-converted 3D motion pictures that had been all the craze on the time. Sony even pressured Raimi to fulfill with James Cameron to debate the 3D know-how created for Avatar. Nonetheless, Raimi declined, claiming he had by no means shot a film in 3D earlier than and required much more prep time throughout pre-production if he was going to make the most of the cutting-edge know-how.
In 2013, Raimi confessed to MTV that he was merely “exhausted with the tremendous amount of delegation” that goes into making such gigantic blockbusters, including: “It really was the most amicable and undramatic of breakups: It was simply that we had a deadline and I couldn’t get the story to work on a level that I wanted it to work. I was very unhappy with Spider-Man 3, and I wanted to make Spider-Man 4 to end on a very high note, the best Spider-Man of them all. But I couldn’t get the script together in time, due to my own failings, and I said to Sony, ‘I don’t want to make a movie that is less than great, so I think we shouldn’t make this picture. Go ahead with your reboot, which you’ve been planning anyway.’ And [Sony co-chairman] Amy Pascal said, ‘Thank you. Thank you for not wasting the studio’s money, and I appreciate your candor.’ So we left on the best of terms, both of us trying to do the best thing for fans, the good name of Spider-Man, and Sony Studios.”
In fact, it’s onerous not to think about Spider-Man 4 with out questioning in regards to the potential plot of the movie. Luckily, extra particulars in regards to the story have been lately divulged. In keeping with Henderson, Spider-Man 4 would have kicked off with Vulture working in disguise as a Black Ops mercenary, doing unlawful soiled work for the federal government and incomes his scavenging moniker for “leaving nothing but bones behind.” After being wrongly accused of committing severe crimes, Vulture is distributed to jail. Elsewhere, with Mary Jane out of the image, Peter Parker has grow to be extra comfy in his pores and skin and extra comfortable together with his heroic function as Spider-Man. However when Vulture breaks out of jail and begins terrorizing town, Spider-Man should make the most of all of his sources to carry the vicious, hyper-violent villain down for good. As Henderson tells it, the second half of Spider-Man 4 would have stored viewers off stability with a slew of story twists and turns that dovetail right into a show-stopping finale, placing Peter Parker in additional peril than ever earlier than. In fact, a few of these story components had been carried over to the following non-Raimi Spider-Man efforts, with Lizard notably showing in The Superb Spider-Man and Vulture terrorizing Peter Parker in Spider-Man: Homecoming. Tobey Maguire additionally reprised his function as Peter Parker in Spider-Man: No Manner House, additional fueling hypothesis about his potential return to the MCU. Nonetheless, it’s onerous to not think about what may have been with Raimi on the helm.
Whereas selling Physician Unusual within the Multiverse of Insanity one 12 months later, Raimi left the door open for his return, telling Fandango: “I’ve come to realize after making Doctor Strange that anything is possible, really anything in the Marvel universe, any team-ups. I love Tobey. I love Kirsten Dunst. I think all things are possible. I don’t really have a story or a plan. I don’t know if Marvel would be interested in that right now. I don’t know what their thoughts are about that. I haven’t really pursued that. But it sounds beautiful. Even if it wasn’t a Spider-Man movie, I’d love to work with Tobey again, in a different role.”
In July 2023, Thomas Haden Church, who performed Flint Marko aka Sandman in Spider-Man 3, instructed Comedian Guide that Spider-Man 4 should still be within the playing cards, stating: “There’s always been some kind of…I’ve heard rumors…that Sam Raimi was going to do another [Spider-Man movie] with Tobey [Maguire] and if that happens, I would probably campaign to maybe at least do a cameo.”
Regardless of rumors on the contrary, in April 2024, Raimi instructed Deadline that he has not but begun work on Spider-Man 4 and has not mentioned the challenge with Tobey Maguire.
Okay, so the following cancelled Spider-Man film dates again to 2013, when Sony introduced two follow-ups to The Superb Spider-Man 2, with launch dates for June 10, 2016, and Might 4, 2018, respectively. Though the fourth movie by no means really acquired off the bottom, Andrew Garfield was contracted to look within the third installment. Paul Giamatti additionally confirmed his return as Rhino within the third film, and Marc Webb was later introduced to return because the director. A month later, Webb bowed out, and the script went via numerous iterations from totally different scribes, together with Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman. But, as soon as Marvel Studios and Sony partnered for a franchise reboot two years later, The Superb Spider-Man 3 and 4 had been abruptly dashed. There have been additionally early discussions a couple of Black Cat and Silver Sable spin-off with director Gina Prince-Bythewood connected, however nothing materialized.
Later in 2013, Drew Goddard tried to make the supervillain film The Sinister Six for Sony. Conceived as a prequel to The Superb Spider-Man 3, the story would have picked up instantly following the occasions in The Superb Spider-Man 2. The plot would have adopted Harry Osborn recruiting essentially the most formidable villains in Spider-Man’s rogues gallery, which modified the unique comedian lineup to incorporate Doc Ock, Mysterio, Kraven the Hunter, Rhino, Vulture, and Inexperienced Goblin because the chief. Held over from The Superb Spider-Man, Andrew Garfield would return as Spider-Man, Dane DeHaan would play Inexperienced Goblin, Paul Giamatti would reprise his function as Rhino, and in a casting change, Matthew McConaughey was recruited to play Vulture.
Whereas Venom was finally chosen as a spin-off as a substitute, The Sinister Six was additionally designed as a possible spin-off to The Superb Spider-Man. In the long run credit for The Superb Spider-Man 2, superior weapons belonging to the villains listed above had been unveiled, seemingly confirming their inclusion. Nonetheless, Goddard expressed a want to stay trustworthy to the comics and embody authentic Sinister Six members Sandman and Electro. But, as a result of the film was conceived as a redemption story for Spidey’s archvillains, the expectation was that Peter Parker would hardly seem in The Sinister Six. Even so, Sony tagged the film with a November 11, 2016, launch date. Sadly, when Marvel Studios launched a brand new Spider-Man franchise in 2015, The Sinister Six was postponed and finally deep-sixed.
In 2018, Goddard claimed his screenplay for The Sinister Six may nonetheless be used sooner or later. Sony’s Amy Pascal admitted the studio had plans to make use of Goddard’s script indirectly, probably in a Tom Holland Spider-Man film. Alas, Pascal left Sony for Common Footage in 2019. In the meantime, with the abysmal crucial and monetary performances by Madame Internet, Kraven the Hunter, and Venom: The Final Dance, Sony halted all plans to supply extra Spider-Man spin-offs that didn’t closely function Peter Parker, leaving the Sinister Six within the chilly. Lifeless chilly.
As soon as The Sinister Six was nixed, Sony redirected focus to El Muerto, a minor Spider-Man character and masked Luchador who begins as an enemy and finally ends up as an ally. Following his amusing efficiency in Bullet Prepare, Sony tapped musician and former skilled wrestler Dangerous Bunny to star as El Muerto in an official Spider-Man spin-off film. Launched within the comics in 2006, El Muerto is the alias of Juan-Carlos Estrada Sanchez, the son of a well-known wrestler killed within the ring by the God, El Dorado. After squaring off with Spider-Man within the wrestling ring and almost unmasking the hero, El Muerto makes use of his superpowered wrestling masks to hitch forces with Spider-Man to defeat El Dorado.
After green-lighting the challenge, Dangerous Bunny appeared on the 2022 CinemaCon to advertise El Muerto for Sony. The movie was slated to open theatrically on January 12, 2024. Early in growth, Gravity author Jonas Cuaron and Blue Beetle scribe Garreth Dunnet-Alcocer had been employed to put in writing and direct El Muerto. Nonetheless, the manufacturing hit a significant snag when the 2023 WGA strike occurred, leading to a number of script rewrites and manufacturing delays. Coupled together with his busy touring schedule and artistic variations with the studio, Dangerous Bunny exited the challenge in July 2023. Though efforts to revive El Muerto occurred in January 2024, with plans to make it a standalone movie, it’s the newest in a tiring litany of cancelled Spider-Man motion pictures.
As disappointing as many of those cancellations are, the largest takeaway is how studios foolishly proceed to prioritize a launch date years away over a well-conceived story and completed screenplay. Whereas the development continues for enormous tent-pole superhero motion pictures, not less than James Gunn has vowed that DC won’t ever start a film manufacturing with out a accomplished script. That’s a begin. In the meantime, for Marvel, all eyes flip to Spider-Man: Model New Day, the fourth entry within the newfangled Tom Holland franchise. It’s protected to say the movie gained’t be cancelled, because it’s presently filming within the UK for a July 31, 2026, launch.
And there we’ve got it. With just a few minor tasks and spin-offs apart, that’s typically what occurred to essentially the most notable Spider-Man motion pictures which were cancelled to date. For those who had to decide on one that you’d pay onerous cash to see if it did get made, which would it not be? Tell us within the feedback under!
