By: Sean O’Connell
“Please don’t tell me we’re in for another Spider-Man 3.”
I read your mind. That’s the thought that popped into most of your heads when you read how Marc Webb might want Paul Giamatti to play The Rhinoin his planned sequel to The Amazing Spider-Man. Please don’t tell me that we’re lining up for an overstuffed, undercooked Spider-Man movie with too many villains and too little attention paid to vital characters in Peter Parker’s universe.
Let’s take a quick head count. Webb’s movie already snared Jamie Foxx toplay Electro, whom most of us believed would be Spidey’s chief nemesis. Supporting roles have been carved out for Dane Dehaan (Harry Osborn) and Shailene Woodley (Mary Jane Watson). The THR story about Giamatti also mentioned a possible role for Like Crazy beauty Felicity Jones. And we haven’t even mentioned Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Martin Sheen or Sally Field … all holdovers from Webb’s original movie.
Instead of falling on the Spider-Man 3 sword and fearing the worst, though, I’ve allowed the news to settle, contemplated a few crucial puzzle pieces, read a lot of analysis and reached a different conclusion. Marc Webb isn’t making Spider-Man 3 … he’s reaching for the stars and casting his version of The Avengers.
It goes without saying that Joss Whedon’s behemoth of a blockbuster forever altered the way studios view superhero properties. To quote Heath Ledger’s Joker in another genre game-changer, “I know the truth: there’s no going back. You’ve changed things … forever.” No longer should comic-book characters be limited to one movie and possibly a sequel. To survive and thrive, studios need to expand their universe and create worlds where heroes and villains can come and go, interact and interchange. Webb seems to be casting for the long term. He appears to be stock-piling his Spider-Man universe.
Source: Cinema Blend