Last week Roberto Orci took part in an interview with IGN and in the course of that interview revealed that he was no longer involved in writing The Amazing Spider-Man 3 or whatever it will end up being called. Orci also implied in his comments that the future of the once promising franchise is in a bit of limbo right now. Here is the actual comment by Orci:
I don't know what their plans are for that franchise. I don't ever want to say never, but we have to figure out what their scheduling is in terms of when they want each movie. I've read probably as much as anyone else. There's a love for the Sinister Six, the idea of Venom -- there's an idea of Spider-Man's going to be one of these characters that's part of our business. He's such a popular character. Spider-Man's not going to go away any time soon. When it all happens and how and all that has yet to be determined.
There is alot to parse out of this quote I think. First there is the obvious fact that Orci is no longer writing ASM3 or involved in the overall plans for the character going into the future. We could assume, second, that Orci would have some inside knowledge of what is happening with the franchise considering his former writing partner, Alex Kurtzman, is the one responsible for writing and directing a stand alone Venom film for Sony. Now with that said, Kurtzman may not know what is happening with the franchise's future either. But it is safe to assume. What this all means is that in the halls of Sony there is some uncertainty about where they go from here.
It is good news I think for the franchise to have Orci no longer involved. I have never been a particularly big fan of him and still don't understand, based on his past work, why he seems to always land these high profile projects. Except of course for the fact that he will do whatever the studio wants with the script. I am sure having a yes man on projects like this is a preferred situation for the suits at any studio. But as can be seen with the critical backlash and unperformance at the box office of Orci's last two projects, Star Trek Into Darkness and Amazing Spider-Man 2, it is obvious that method does not produce films of any real quality or lasting popularity.
Obviously, Spider-Man will continue on film. Putting the whole Marvel rights issue aside, Spider-Man is still profitable to Sony. True, ASM2 was not the global juggernaut that Sony had hoped for. But the power of Spider-Man does not only reside in the global box office. His earning power really resides in merchandising. Spider-Man can be found on cereal boxes, pizza boxes, fast food happy meals, toy store shelves, and commercials for cell phone companies, and automobile manufacturers. That is where Spider-Man can earn Sony the real money and is why you won't see Sony stop making Spider-Man films. Sorry Marvel fans, the rights will never revert back to Marvel anytime in the near future.
With future Spider-Man films coming, just what can Sony do to restore this franchise to its former glory? Can it be saved? And if so, does it involve another scrapping of what they have done to this point and rebooting it all again?
Yes I do believe Spider-Man on film can be saved. Here is some suggestions on how to do it:
1) Make a high quality 3rd film.
I think one of the best options Sony has on the table is to continue on with the rebooted series and make a 3rd film. Keep the cast you have and change everything else. I think Marc Webb has done a pretty good job with the first two films. I think particularly the second film was very visually strong and captured what it felt like to be Spider-Man in a way that none of the previous films have done so. But I think, even with that said, Webb's time with the franchise is at an end.
Obviously with the departure of Orci, Sony has a wide open spot as far as who would write this 3rd film. That is a good place for them to be. Now here is the key on how to proceed with who would write the film. First, you have to start with someone or a team of people who have a track record of quality writing.
They don't necessarily need to have written a superhero film in the past. They just have to have demonstrated an ability to write characters well and to show a keen understanding on how to make a film that values and holds the relationships between the characters as central to the plot. That is what ASM3 needs, more fully developed characters and a plot that is motivated by their actions and choices and not some arbitrary need to move from A to B. It is the characters, above all, that makes a film connect with audiences and can elevate that film to something that becomes beloved among moviegoers. Just look at Frozen as a recent example of this idea in action.
Second, I think Sony needs to find writers who have an appreciation of Spider-Man. They don't need to be rapid fans, they just have to like the character and respects the material. It would benefit the film greatly to have people who have some passion about Spider-Man and Peter Parker. Writers who want to do right by the character. That is a key going forward. Perhaps Sony could bring back writers who have had past success with the franchise. For example, they could hire Michael Choban to write the ASM3 screenplay. Choban helped write what many consider to be not only the best film in the Spider-Man series, in Spider-Man 2, but also the one of the best comic book movies ever as well. Hiring someone like Choban to write the film would show that Sony is serious about righting the ship as it were and it would, I think, excite the fans of the series to have him involved.
As far as the director is concerned, there are plenty of up and coming talents that would be a nice fit for this material. Directors like Joseph Kosinski, Duncan Jones, Josh Trank, or even Sarah Polley. You could also look to the old guard and find someone who has always loved Spidey and wanted to direct a film. James Cameron would be a good choice here, as he has an interest in Spider-Man, if he was not tied up with Avatar films for the foreseeable future. There are plenty of other directors with experience that could be interested in making a 3rd film that rights the franchise and perhaps re-invents it some ways, which of course brings me to my next point.
2) Throw it all away and really take some risks.
The other thing Sony could do is just wash their hands of this whole reboot and declare it dead. Then they are free to explore any and all options on the table. One idea that I am excited about would involve Sony deciding to do stand alone stories for the Spider-Man universe. For example, you could have one film that is set in the 1960's and explore what a Spider-Man story in that time period would look like. You could have another film set in the future and look at adapting Spider-Man 2099. You could open it up and allow filmmakers and writers to adapt any comic book story from Spider-Man's long history or create a completely new story involving the webhead.
By doing this Sony is making a clear statement that they are going to handle this franchise in a way that no other studio has done with their major superhero franchises. You have had stand alone stories in the modern era, with the Wolverine films being the most prominent of those. Sure Marvel's stand alone solo films are similar to this, but they are all part of a connected universe. In the case of this idea, none of these films would be connected except for having a version of Spider-Man in them. I think by opening things up wide like this Sony could attract top tier talent on the writing and directing side.
I think many successful creatives in Hollywood would like the idea of doing their own version of a Spider-Man film and the fact that they wouldn't necessarily be tied down to make sequels. Now of course one or several of these films could become successful and demand a sequel. But the idea going in would be to make the film in question as a one-shot and nothing more. To not be tied down to the continuity of this reboot series, which has been not really great to this point, would be highly liberating to a filmmaker or a writer coming in I think as well. I just think it would bring a much higher level of talent to the table that continuing with the rebooted universe would not.
Plus, it would turn the cinematic realm of Spidey into a mirror of the comic one. You could have different stories being told with Spider-Man that could interest different viewers or fans of the character. It would be unlike anything ever done before and I think would draw interest from the public just for that reason alone. If the films made were good, which I think is very likely if the talent involved is high, then you could be looking at something that would have the potential to be hugely popular with the movie going public.
It is a bold move and one I don't feel honestly Sony would have the guts to make if is was presented to them. But it is an avenue that I love and would be very excited to see Sony take.
3) Kill off Peter Parker.
Look the comics have already done this. For the past two years in the major Spider-Man titles, Peter Parker has been dead with Doctor Octopus inhabiting his body and being Spider-Man. In the Ultimate series, they killed Peter Parker in August of 2011 and had a completely new character, named Miles Morales, take over for him. It was done twice, in two different books, and no one lost their minds over it.
I think you could continue with the rebooted universe and make a ASM3. But you would look at it as a transition film. You would have it be the last film with Peter Parker as the main character and would move a new character to the fore to become Spider-Man in the next series of films. What character would they use to replace Peter? Well none other than Miles Morales.
In the Ulitmate run, Miles Morales was of mixed race (his father was African-American and his mother was Latina) and got his powers just like Peter: from a bite from one of Norman Osborn's super-spiders. The creators of the series claimed he was inspired by President Barack Obama and actor Donald Glover of Community fame. No matter who he was inspired by, the idea of an African American Spider-Man is a pretty great one. So great that I think it would draw people to the franchise who would otherwise not be interested. It would also give us a character that most of the people in the audience would know next to nothing about. As it stands now, the average person going to see a Spider-Man movie knows the basics about Peter Parker and knows somewhat what to expect from a movie with him as the lead.
By doing this, Sony would infuse new life into this series and take it to a place that Raimi never did with his trilogy. It would draw in new audiences to the series by having a lead that is not another white male and it would excite comic fans (I think) to see Morales become a real character in the cinematic universe.
In the end, I think Sony understands they made many mistakes when it came to The Amazing Spider-Man 2. My hope is that they are able to be honest with themselves and really pin down the problems with that movie and make a honest effort to correct those problems in whatever film they decide to move forward with. I don't think Spider-Man as a character is dead on film, nor do I think the movie going public has become bored with him. I feel that if Sony is willing to take risks and commit to quality above all else they can right this ship and bring the character back to the glory of the early Raimi films.
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