Discuss: With Gyllenhaal Out, Who Could Play Spidey?
Filed under: Action, Casting, RumorMonger, Fandom, DIY/Filmmaking, Comic/Superhero/Geek
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Now that Jake Gyllenhaal has officially signed to star in Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, that basically means we can take his name off the table with regards to all future comic properties (at least until after Persia comes out, because that may turn into a franchise if the first makes loads of duckets). While we still have no idea whether Tobey Maguire will return to play Spidey in a Spider-Man 4, we do know that Sony is prepping something. They just re-upped their deal for a fourth installment (fact) and they may be looking to get more bang for their buck by shooting two sequels at the same time with a story arc that stretches across both films. However, it all comes down to negotiations -- and if parties (be them studios, actors, writers or directors) can't decide on a fair enough deal, things could potentially fall apart rather quickly and go in a completely different direction.
Here's the question: Has enough time passed for Sam Raimi, Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst? Do they miss the roles? The characters? How much would it take to get them back? And do we want them back? I think it's pretty clear we all still want Spider-Man in our big-screen lives, even though the third film was what it was. But are Maguire and Dunst still the right actors for the job? Or would some new blood do an old franchise some good?
For awhile, lots of people were looking at Jake Gyllenhaal to replace Maguire if a decision like that had to be made. With Jake G. out of the picture, who else could you see filling Maguire's Spidey tights?
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(Page 1)2. tobey's a great actor, no question but i don't care 'who' gets cast as 'what' anymore.
spiderman 3 was so laughably bad that, like x-men 3, i want it to just go away for AT LEAST five years. i mean, we're talking "Batman & Robin" bad.
Posted at 9:29PM on May 23rd 2008 by carg0
3. Oh, I disagree. Spidey 3 was nowhere near as disappointing as the X-Men films, and 'Batman and Robin' is probably the worst comic book adaptation ever. I hated the X-Men films sooooo much, you have no idea.
Posted at 11:29PM on May 23rd 2008 by Niko_Bellic
4. Completely agree. Actually, I'd rank it as worse than Batman & Robin -- that movie at least seemed to *want* to be campy and bad. Spiderman 3 thought it was serious drama and failed in every respect. The acting was horrible, the story line ridiculous.
Maybe if they had one more bad guy they could have made a go of it! :)
Posted at 9:43AM on May 24th 2008 by nz
6. First off, can we get a Spidey article without talking crap about the third movie? I mean seriously, it wasn't THAT bad. Frankly, I rather enjoyed it and thought it was a lot of fun, and that's coming from a Venom fan who waited months in anticipation for his favorite comic book character to make his big screen debut...for 10 minutes and then get killed off. Ouch. Thanks Sam. I'm just saying, look at the big picture and you'll see it wasn't NEARLY as bad as the Fantastic Four films, Elektra, or Ghost Rider. That said, I thought Jake would have been a great replacement for Tobey if he opted not to return for a fourth film. I could probably do without Kirsten though. She wasn't a bad MJ just not quite who I would have picked for the role. As much as I hate her I think Megan Fox would be a suitable replacement.
Posted at 9:45PM on May 23rd 2008 by Colin
7. If one and two hadn't been that good, less people would complain but it's obvious something went terribly wrong there.
Posted at 10:02PM on May 23rd 2008 by Mr. R
9. joseph gordon levit he was rumored to take over for awhile plus he's a phenomenal actor his performances in brick and the lookout make one of the most promising young actors
Posted at 10:48PM on May 23rd 2008 by ruben magana
10. JGL would be a good choice. I think whoever they pick has to play adult Peter Parker. Keep the storyline moving forward. Don't "re-start" the films with another origin tale. Good or bad they need to keep moving forward and have Peter and Mary Jane get married. Like the first films they need to focus the films on the relationship between Peter Parker and Mary Jane. And don't use any of the same villians already used. Even though the ones used in the previous films were arguably the best villians. I'm sure there are still good ones to choose from. Like Kraven.
Posted at 11:09PM on May 23rd 2008 by Midnight13
11. What about Rhino, Electro, The Lizard, Mysterio, Scorpion, Shocker. Any of these including Kraven would be great for the next movie. Just please for the love of everything good, NO CLONES and NO CARNAGE!!!
Posted at 2:34AM on May 24th 2008 by Nick Ritch
12. I hope Raimi, Maguire and Dunst all return. Spiderman 3 was great. I found the ending quite moving. Sure it had flaws, but they were minor. This is a movie for kids, and kids loved it. It was also for the kid inside of us older folks. Some of us have a difficult time reconnecting with that "inner kid", evidently.
The theme of forgiveness was an interesting aspect of part 3, and not much talked about in reviews. Very appropriate for our times, I think.
Posted at 11:18PM on May 23rd 2008 by vinbot
13. The ending was touching only in the most obvious and manufactured way. If you mean it was for kids as in it lacked emotional depth, then you are right on.
Posted at 9:54AM on May 24th 2008 by nz
14. I want a new cast, a new director, a badass new villain, and a new origin doesn't bother me at all. I say, don't be afraid to take the series in a new direction, Sony; it paid off in Casino Royale.
Posted at 11:37PM on May 23rd 2008 by Niko_Bellic
15. Why do I have a feeling Casey Affleck would be flippin awesome as both Parker and Spidey....?
Posted at 11:58PM on May 23rd 2008 by James
16. Wow. Awesome call. After seeing "Gone, Baby, Gone" I think he could definately pull off the tough-luck loser side of Peter. He's always shown the ability to pull off the sarcastic side of Spidey.
I think Casey could really transition the franchise from the kid to the adult Spiderman.
17. Pacey from Dawson's Creek, of course.
Posted at 12:20AM on May 24th 2008 by mezzanine
18. The problem with Spiderman 3 was Venom. Sam wanted Sandman the Suits wanted Venom. So he was forced to fit in all this stuff about the black costume and Venom. SandMan and goblin jr were more than enough to make a Great cohesive movie. Sam Raimi did a great job with all 3 of the movies. His two faults were the dance scene and the walk montage.
Posted at 2:24AM on May 24th 2008 by Nick Ritch
19. While I would like to see Toby back as Spidey, I think Jim Sturgess (21) would be a good Spider-man. I was watching 21 and I couldn't help but thinking he would be a good Peter Parker/Spidey.
Posted at 2:52AM on May 24th 2008 by Greg
20. sandman was boring and spider 3 was that bad. it just wasnt street fighter or mortal kombat bad. but it was bad. it was like a 3 out of 10 movie.
why are people against carnage? venom and carnage are the most interesting villains because they consistently kick spideys ass and the arc would have to last over 2 movies because he wouldnt definoitely be down and out before some kind of super comeback happens. rhino? boring, kraven i vaguely remember him and all those other names. lets face it the face of evil with spiderman is venom and carnage its for a reason. i want them only. spidey 4 and 5 should be those 2.
Posted at 4:06AM on May 24th 2008 by Riley Freeman
1. I loved Tobey as Spidey. Would be sad to see him go. Yeah it went a little weird in the 3rd flick but I dont think its all him. I wont miss Kristen tho. Was never Mary Jane for me. If they do use her again then make it a smaller role. Bring Black Cat to change the chemistry around. Playful flirtation and all that jazz. I love Sam but if they get someone else I wouldnt be too miffed. As long as they are good. I mean people freaked when they switched the Potter movies and look how much better they became.
Posted at 9:19PM on May 23rd 2008 by spinninnzen