CHAPTER 3:
THE BEST OF SPIDEY
Considering how popular of a character Spidey was, and the huge success of the first film, a sequel was inevitable. So a sequel was announced. BEFORE THE FILM WAS EVEN RELEASED! Okay, I'm overreacting. I mean Spider-Man is an iconic character and this is pretty common.
I mean, it worked for Captain America...
It worked for the X-Men Prequels...
And It worked for the Fantastic Fo...
Never Mind.
Just a month before the film's release, Sam Raimi was already signed on to return as director. After the movie's record-breaking opening weekend, Sony set a release date and got David Koepp, Alfred Gough, and Miles Millar. Their script would feature four villains, The Lizard, Doc Ock, and Black Cat, and The New Goblin (Harry). Because, you know, Spider-Man movies with lots of villains is always a good thing.
Later that year, Michael Chabon came in to rewrite the script, and he would cut the villain down to one, now Doc Ock, who would finally be used after being considered for EVERY SINGLE SPIDER-MAN PROJECT! However, there was a catch. By the way, no matter what you think of Avi Arad (I have a major gruge against the guy because he produced BRATZ, the worst movie I've ever seen), you have to thank him for this:
Chabon's scripthad Doc Ock. However, he was college-age (NO). He had the hots for Mary Jane (NO). And he created the spider that gave Peter his powers (NO). So what do you have to thank Avi Arad for. He stopped all of this from happening because it was a stupid idea.
Another part of the script that Arad rejected was the idea of Harry and Jameson teaming up to put a bounty on Spider-Man's head. Because Why Not. Raimi went through a lot of scripts in order to find the right one for the film. He eventually went with a draft written by Alvin Sargent, an uncredited writer on the first film.
The film had trouble choosing a title. They went from "The Amazing Spider-Man" to "Spider-Man 2: No More" to "Spider-Man Lives" to "Spider-Man: Unmasked". Eventually, they setteled with the simple title "Spider-Man 2". The reason they wanted to call the film "No More" is because it was based mostly on the comic book arc of the same name. They even recreated the most iconic panel.
Now for casting. Tobey Maguire almost left the Spider-Man role to due to back pains,and Jake Gyllenhaal almost took over the role. Jerry O'Connell was considered to play Jameson's son, who probably a bigger role in the comics, but had barely any point in this movie. Robert De Niro, Sam Neil, Ed Harris, and Chris Cooper were all considered for Doc Ock.
Chris Cooper would go on to play a different Spider-Man villain.
Kinda.
When the movie was released, it got even better reviews than the first film. People praised it for the acting, writing, and the idea of exploring of the postiviesand negatives of Peter's life, as well as giving up the superhero life. Many people consider this the best Spidey film. Roger Ebert even considered it the best superhero movie he ever saw. As for the box office, while it didn't make as much as the first film, it was still a huge success. It could have been the highest-grossing film of 2004 if it wasn't for the one who was love and life.
That was a terrible joke. I'm so sorry.
Anyway, with two great movies, a third film was greenlit. And considering how good the first two films were, this one would be just as good, right? Right? RIGHT?!?!?!?
TO BE CONTINUED...