Sony Has (Surprisingly Not Terrible) Plans To Reboot SPIDER-MAN... Again
A new report on the "Sony Hack" has revealed an extensive outline for the studio's plans to reboot the reboot for their Spider-Man franchise. The outline sent from Jeff Robinov to Amy Pascal features details on potential directors, plot, & the possibility of seeing Spidey as an adult. Check it out!
The widespread "Sony Hack" has proven to be more than devastating for the studio and its employees as secret after secret has been made available to the general public. While much has been revealed over the past week and much more is expected to be revealed in the coming winter, it has been news of their sole Marvel property, Spider-Man, that has brought some of the most noteworthy stories.
Just to recap, so far we've learned:
Are you ready for some more?
The Daily Beast has now revealed new details from the hack revealing that Sony planned on rebooting the reboot to Spider-Man! This fresh news comes from an 8-page document (dated Nov.13) sent from Jeff Robinov, head of Studio 8, to Amy Pascal, Sony Pictures co-chairman, outlining a plan to reboot the entire Spider-Man franchise. His email begins with immense praise for the beloved hero: "To argue that there’s plenty of other superhero movies with levity in the marketplace, so why make more Spider-Man movies, would be akin to saying there’s no room for James Bond films because of all the espionage films and franchises that have come out over the years. There will always be room for this beloved, iconic hero."
Robinov then goes on to discuss the main purpose behind his e-mail: the reboot of Spider-Man. He compares Spidey to James Bond and surprisingly makes a lot of sense: "In the next Spider-Man movies, we can’t go back to his origin story. Think of the 25 films in the James Bond franchise; just because a new creative team comes aboard, and breathes new life into a classic property, doesn’t mean the origin story has to be retold." Now, wouldn't that be a welcome sight? A Spider-Man film without the retelling of an origin story we've already seen twice in the past 12 years. Robinov follows this up with a long list of potential directors for the hypothetical reboot featuring a ton of familiar faces:
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Brad Bird
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Edgar Wright
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David Yates
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Damien Chazelle
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Glenn Ficarra & John Requa
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Phil Lord & Chris Miller
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Colin Trevorrow
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James Gunn
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Chris Buck & Jennifer Lee
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Joe Cornish
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Don Hall & Chris Williams
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Joachim Rønning & Espen Sandberg
Robinov finishes his correspondence with a discussion on the most important part of the film, the story. Instead of deciding on the story himself, he says he would rather sit down and have an extensive discussion with the filmmakers and learn how they would approach a new Spider-Man film. However, despite saying this, he does discuss a potential plot featuring a very popular Spider-Man story, which he may or may not have learned about from Wikipedia, that could be interesting:
I might suggest looking at what is widely thought to be the most beloved Spider-Man storyline of all time – “Kraven’s Last Hunt” – which ran across Amazing Spider-Man #293-294, Spectacular Spider-Man #131-132, and Web of Spider-Man #31-32. (In fact, Comic Book Resources polled their readers in 2012, and this storyline was voted as the single greatest Spider-Man storyline of all time.)
In it, Kraven the Hunter tracks down Spider-Man, shoots him repeatedly, and leaves him for dead, buried underground. He then dons a Spider-Man costume and savagely starts attacking criminals.
What makes this story resonate with fans is that it proves it takes more than just the costume to become “Spider-Man.” No matter what he’s wearing, or what predicament he’s facing, Peter Parker is sensitive, passionate, and connected to those he’s interacting with in a very powerful way. It’s not Peter’s powers that make him special – Kraven, and every other superhuman in the Marvel Universe, all have powers. Peter is special because of his values, because of what drives him, because of the lessons he’s learned from Uncle Ben’s death, and because of his love for Mary Jane. I’ve pasted a few pivotal pages from this book so you can see just how intense this storyline is.
We also get to see how Mary Jane deals with Peter’s disappearance, and how she would react if Peter ever died in action.
Doesn't sound half-bad, does it? He also touches on another angle that would see Peter Parker as an adult instead of the "teenager/college student" we've seen in the past five films:
Another side of Spider-Man that might be interesting to explore in a reboot is seeing him as an adult. Spidey hasn’t remained a teenager over the 52 years he’s been around. He’s moved in with his girlfriend, gotten married, and in some storylines, even became a science teacher at a high school.
It might feel fresh to see Peter Parker juggling with adult issues. He’s done so in the comics for decades, and kids still found this fun to read.
This could theoretically mean that a slightly older actor (or an actor playing his actual age) could be up to take on the Spider-Man mantle from Andrew Garfield, who may officially be out of the franchise. While this opens up the options, Tobey Maguire would be a welcome return for many or if you want fresh blood, it looks like Sony might have had their eye on Ryan Gosling.
This week has been tough to digest for a lot of Spider-Man fans, what do you guys make of all this news? Does this potential new reboot sound like a good idea? Could Sony recreate Spider-Man similiar to what they did with James Bond? Or do you no longer have faith in Sony? Is it time Marvel takes over and helps bring their most beloved hero back to prominence?
Sound off with your thoughts below!