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Kirsten Dunst played love interest Mary Jane Watson in all three Spider-Man movies directed by Sam Raimi, though she won't appear in director Marc Webb's upcoming Spider-Man reboot. In an interview with MTV, the actress offered some advice for Emma Stone, who will play Gwen Stacy in the movie.
Get used to acting to nothing. [There is] a lot of that. Swinging, and acting to nothing.
While she won't be in any more Spider-Man movies, she told PopcornBiz that's she proud of the original trilogy.
it "was time" to move on >> Posted 11.23.10 by Ryan -
Who will wear the mask?
The January 11th news that Sony was scrapping Spider-Man 4 and rebooting the franchise following the departure of director Sam Raimi took nearly everyone by surprise. Even the title star of all three movies, Tobey Maguire, had updated the status of Spider-Man 4 only a few days before saying, "It's all happening right now. It's all sort of coming together."
In the wake of the news, numerous casting rumors have come bubbling up from the depths of the Internet. So far, none of them have proven to be credible. The latest news, coming out of an interview Billy Bush conducted with Logan Lerman for Access Hollywood, has the star of the upcoming movie Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief in talks for the lead role of Peter Parker, aka Spider-Man, in the rebooted franchise.
There have been a few discussions, it's definitely something I'm looking into.
It's just, you know, conversations are starting. It's a long process with the studio and the producers and everything. But it's definitely a project that I'm really interested in, of course. I'd love to focus on the human element a little bit more. It'd be such a fun experience.
Casting the 18-year-old in the lead seems to fit with Sony's decision to take the franchise back to Spider-Man's origin as a geeky high school student who initially abuses his new powers. However, no sooner had the Lerman story broke than popular comic book movie blog HeatVision attempted to debunk the news.
While a "wide net" is being cast, according to a studio spokesman, "No offers have been made, nor have any business discussions been made with Lerman."
The actor's camp also confirms no business discussions are being held at this time.
Admittedly, it does seem unlikely that the star of one burgeoning franchise would be offered the lead role in another. Then again, if it works for Ryan Reynolds with his Deadpool and Green Lantern roles, perhaps Lerman could do the same with Percy Jackson and Spider-Man.
Posted 02.05.10 by BrentJS -
When news broke on Monday that rather than heading towards a Sam Raimi-Tobey McGuire Spider-Man 4, Sony decided to pull the plug and reboot the entire franchise, we were shocked. What was by far one of our most-anticipated movies was suddenly gone, replaced with who knows what?
But it’s hard not to have mixed feelings about this decision, given the disappointing Spider-Man 3 and the heavy burden of continuity weighing down on any sequel’s plot choices. For more opinions on this, we turned to the fans and their thoughts about the reboot — and soon learned that they’re as mixed on this subject as we are.
See how the fans reacted to this news here.
Posted 01.13.10 by reelz -
Forget all that you knew about Spider-Man 4. There's no rewrite on the way. John Malkovich won't be playing The Vulture, and no one will play The Black Cat because there won't another Spider-Man movie made with director Sam Raimi or Tobey Maguire in the lead role.
Deadline Hollywood reported earlier this morning that Raimi left Spider-Man 4, citing that he could not make the movie in the timetable that Sony required. Once Raimi left, Sony decide to scrap Spider-Man 4 and start over. Sony released a press release that explained the change.
Culver City, CA (January 11, 2010) — Peter Parker is going back to high school when the next Spider-Man hits theaters in the summer of 2012. Columbia Pictures and Marvel Studios announced today they are moving forward with a film based on a script by James Vanderbilt that focuses on a teenager grappling with both contemporary human problems and amazing super-human crises.
The new chapter in the Spider-Man franchise produced by Columbia, Marvel Studios and Avi Arad and Laura Ziskin, will have a new cast and filmmaking team. Spider-Man 4 was to have been released in 2011, but had not yet gone into production.
"Working on the Spider-Man movies was the experience of a lifetime for me. While we were looking forward to doing a fourth one together, thestudio and Marvel have a unique opportunity to take the franchise in a new direction, and I know they will do a terrific job," said Sam Raimi.
According to the report, Maguire learned of the news through a phone call and was not upset, but would have continued with the project had Raimi stayed on board. Meanwhile, Raimi could start work on his World of Warcraft adaptation.
More news of the Spider-Man reboot will arrive in the coming weeks as production begins on the movie.
Posted 01.11.10 by Ryan -
Appearing on the final day of the 37th annual UBS Global Media & Communications Conference, Disney Co. president and CEO Bob Iger confidently defended Disney's recent acquisitions of Pixar and Marvel. While he admitted that the movie business "is more challenging" than it has been "in a long time," Iger cited Jon Favreau's success with the little-known character of Iron Man as an example of one of the "potential surprises" awaiting Disney in Marvel's huge collection of characters.
Iger said that Disney will be able to test market the appeal of characters through its Disney XD channel before committing vast amounts of money to the development of its next potential franchise. Iger also said that Disney is"just fine" with allowing Sony to keep the rights to produce Spider-Man movies, even though the character is Marvel's premiere superhero, citing Marvel's right to handle the licensing of the films.
Spider-Man 4 is currently slated to begin shooting in March. Director Sam Raimi is back at the helm, with Tobey Maguire reprising the role of Peter Parker/Spider-Man.
Posted 12.12.09 by BrentJS -
Back in October, director Sam Raimi hinted that one of the next villains to face down Peter Parker in Spider-Man 4 might be Dr. Curt Connors, AKA "The Lizard." In response to an MTV fan poll that picked The Lizard, Raimi said:
I love the Lizard. There's a great story there in the Marvel comic books about Dr. Connors.
While Raimi's comments may not be an indication that The Lizard will feature prominently in Spider-Man 4, recent comments Tobey Maguire has made to MTV lend more weight to that possibility.
I'm more familiar with Lizard and Mysterio, and I don't know — I like them as villains. I think they're great, and Lizard obviously has a really personal relationship with Peter Parker, so we often will go towards that kind of stuff.
Production on Spider-Man 4 is slated to begin in March.
Posted 11.24.09 by BrentJS -
We suppose it's no surprise that Sony and Columbia will release Spider-Man 4 in IMAX when it comes out on May 5, 2011. But for those who needed an official announcement, here it is.
ComingSoon.net reports that several representatives of Sony and IMAX made statements to the press confirming that they are planning even more IMAX screenings than were available for the last installment. One of these representatives was Rory Bruer, President of Worldwide Distribution for Sony Pictures Releasing:
The last two Spider-Man releases have been available in IMAX theaters, and we're very much looking forward to our return to a wider IMAX theatre network with this exciting new chapter in the continuing adventures of Spider-Man. The addition of so many new IMAX locations will give even more fans of Spider-Man an opportunity to experience the action and adventure in a unique way.
Director Sam Raimi, who helmed the first three movies, is back for the fourth, as are stars Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst. In addition, cult-movie star Bruce Campbell — who cameoed as a boxing-ring announcer, a theater usher, and a French waiter in the first three movies — will reportedly have a larger role in Spider-Man 4, much to our delight.
Posted 09.15.09 by reelz -
There are a lot of superhero movies out there, but the hero is only half the story — the boring half, in fact. However much you love a hero, it takes a great villain to really bring a movie over the top. There needs to be a foil to the hero's strengths: a Joker for the Batman, a Red Skull for Captain America, a Michael Bay for the American public.
Without a villain, all you’ve got is someone prancing around in tights for a couple hours ... a terrible idea unless Sony unexpectedly takes our suggestion and casts Jessica Alba in the title role. Since sadly that seems unlikely to happen, we have a few suggestions for who the still unannounced villain of Spider-Man 4 should be. While popular favorites (the Green Goblin, Dr. Octopus, and emo haircuts) have already been used up, Spider-Man has been around for nearly 50 years. The series offers a wide variety of possibilities, each sillier than the last. We count down the Top 10 Spider-Man 4 Villain Candidates here.
Posted 07.22.09 by reelz -
When it comes to the fourth installment of the Spider-Man series, Kirsten Dunst has been the sole hold-out. Tobey Maguire is back. Sam Raimi is going to direct. Even Bruce Campbell is likely to do another cameo, however Dunst has yet to join in on the web-slinging fun. Raimi is hoping to change that. Raimi told SciFiWire that he's planning on meeting with Dunst soon:
I'm hoping that she is going to come aboard, and I've got a meetingcoming up with her. I think she would like to. But I don't want to speak on behalf of her.
Why not join Spider-Man 4? There's a script from a Pulitzer-Prize winner arriving at the end of summer, Raimi has more control over the movie, plus Dunst will be able to yet again dye her natural blonde hair to an unnatural-looking red! (Not to mention, those Spider-Man movies are kinda successful.) Jump on board, Kirsten!
Posted 04.23.09 by Ryan -
The news dropped like a bombshell early this morning that Sony Pictures has signed Robert Pattinson (Twilight) to replace Tobey Maguire in the titular role in Spider-Man 4.
In the official press release, Amy Pascal, Co-Chairman of Sony Pictures and Chairman of Sony Pictures Entertainment Motion Picture Group, announced that Pattinson would not only be assuming the role of Peter Parker and his alter-ego, Spider-Man, in Spider-Man 4, but also in Spider-Man 5 and in a spin-off film to be announced at a later date.
It is no secret that Pascal has been shopping around for an actor to fill the red-and-blue tights for some time. Only a few months ago, negotiations between Sony and Maguire nearly broke down because of the actor's reluctance to return to what he described as a "worn-out concept."
Sam Raimi, the cult film director and mastermind behind the multi-billion dollar Spider-Man franchise, recently blamed the failure of Spider-Man 3 to meet expectations on corporate control interfering with his creative process. Is the Sony Pictures press release another example of the type of control Raimi was referring to or a step toward realizing the director's vision for the franchise?
When asked to comment on the press release, Raimi said:
Decisions like these are always difficult. I know the fans liked Tobey -- and I greatly enjoyed working with him -- but Robert is the future of the franchise.
The press release did not indicate what the spin-off film might be, but recent speculation has focused on Morbius, a mainstay in the Spider-Man comic book mythology. In the comics, Morbius is a "living vampire," a victim of an ill-fated experimental treatment involving vampire bats and shock therapy.
There has been no word from Tobey Maguire's representatives.
Happy April Fool's Day!
Posted 04.01.09 by BrentJS