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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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
5-23-2008 @ 9:19PM
spinninnzen said...
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.
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5-23-2008 @ 9:29PM
carg0 said...
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.
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5-23-2008 @ 11:29PM
Niko_Bellic said...
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.
5-24-2008 @ 9:43AM
nz said...
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! :)
5-23-2008 @ 9:33PM
dana said...
After seeing the actors (Dunst especially) on the press junket for S3, it didn't seem like they were at all excited about the third movie, much less a fourth. I'm interested to see if they all sign on.
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5-23-2008 @ 9:45PM
Colin said...
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.
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5-23-2008 @ 10:02PM
Mr. R said...
If one and two hadn't been that good, less people would complain but it's obvious something went terribly wrong there.
5-23-2008 @ 11:03PM
Bradley said...
I rented Spidey 3 off of Red Box for a dollar and I felt ripped off. Yes it was that bad. I never want to see that movie again and I think it made me lessen my opinion of the franchise as a whole.
5-23-2008 @ 10:48PM
ruben magana said...
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
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5-23-2008 @ 11:09PM
Midnight13 said...
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.
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5-24-2008 @ 2:34AM
Nick Ritch said...
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!!!
5-23-2008 @ 11:18PM
vinbot said...
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.
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5-24-2008 @ 9:54AM
nz said...
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.
5-23-2008 @ 11:37PM
Niko_Bellic said...
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.
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5-23-2008 @ 11:58PM
James said...
Why do I have a feeling Casey Affleck would be flippin awesome as both Parker and Spidey....?
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5-24-2008 @ 10:48AM
Wayne said...
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.
5-24-2008 @ 12:20AM
mezzanine said...
Pacey from Dawson's Creek, of course.
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5-27-2008 @ 3:40PM
Eli Burnside said...
Jim Sturgess or Adam Brody as Parker/Spidey and Christina Hendricks as mary jane Watson keep the rest of the cast though J.K. Simmons is perfect as J. Jonah Jameson, and I really don't care for Aunt May, keep Dylan Baker as Curt Connors he's alread established the character
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5-27-2008 @ 9:56PM
Colin said...
Out of the three possible candidates I've heard up to play Parker I like Sturgess the most. I heard he was going to be playing Spidey in that musical they were going to do.
5-24-2008 @ 2:24AM
Nick Ritch said...
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.
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