gwen stacy Tagged Articles at Cinematical

I feel like I have this long checklist of cast and crew that we're slowly crossing off for this theoretical film. Now, you can put Bryce Dallas Howard on the "would sign tomorrow" list, thanks to MTV. "I would love to be apart of any continuation of the franchise. But, I also really understand that there's so many different story lines that the fans are really excited to see, and the studio, and the producers, and the filmmakers really need to appease everyone," the actress said. "Whether or not Gwen Stacy comes back, I mean, I wish it was up to me, but it's not. But yes, if they'd call me, I'd be there in a heart beat."

I'm not sure how they can really fit Gwen Stacy in -- is there a point in having a romantic rival when Spider-Man is never ever going to leave Mary Jane onscreen? I remember when we all thought (or maybe it was just my corner of the Internet) that they would reverse comic book history, and kill off Mary Jane and hook Mr. Parker up with Gwen. (If House of M is to be believed, and it probably isn't, that's who he really wanted anyway.) Is there even any emotional impact if they kill off Captain George Stacy in a fourth film, as James Cromwell once said they planned on doing? Is the subplot of "I'm really sorry your dad died, my one-time love interest" really worth exploring? I could probably think more clearly if I could get the breakdancing scene out of my head.

Of course, this is all idle speculation when no official announcements have been made. And as for Sam Raimi he's now playing coy with MTV about returning to the director's chair, and says he wants to wear the Spidey suit instead. That's one way to cut the budget.

You'd think that Spider-Man creator Stan Lee would receive privileged information about Spider-Man 4, but apparently he doesn't even know what is going on in the comics, let alone the movie scripts. Still, he is smart enough to know what should happen in the next installment of the series: Dr. Curt Connors, who we've briefly seen in parts 2 and 3, should finally turn into The Lizard. Of course, an appearance from the scaly villain has been expected since Connors was first alluded to in the first film. In addition to suggesting that The Lizard should be the next villain, in a video interview with Reelz Channel's Dailies, Lee also discusses the possibility of Peter Parker ending up with Gwen Stacy rather than Mary Jane in part 4.

Lee's suggestion is simply that, a suggestion, as long as he has no real creative input, but he is right to say The Lizard is a logical next step. Certainly such logic makes it less of a surprise when we hear rumors about the villain already being a lock for the film. However, expecting a villain because of onscreen allusions means we should also logically predict that Man-Wolf and Robot-Master will show up at some point, too. Anyway, Lee probably wants to see another one of his own creations like The Lizard on the big screen instead of any of Spidey's newer villains, like Carnage, who is also being talked about for #4. For me, either villain or both is fine, just as long as Spidey doesn't team up with Venom to fight them. I actually stopped reading the comics following the Maximum Carnage storyline (though I did give the good-guy Venom series a fair shot), and I'd probably stop watching the movies at the same point. I know the end of Spider-Man 3 suggests this couldn't happen, but you never know -- either with comic books or the movies.

In a move which baffled many Spider-Man fans, Sam Raimi and company chose to introduce Gwen Stacy into the film franchise in the third installment. Stacy, of course, is well known among True Believers for being Peter Parker's first true love, and her tragic death sent shock waves throughout the geek community. For the movie franchise, Stacy's existence was initially ignored, and MJ was instead chosen for Peter's first girl; hence the raised eyebrows of fans when Stacy was announced for the new film as a rival love interest.

ComingSoon recently spoke with Kirsten Dunst about the competition, and Dunst assured them it was on-screen only. In fact, she thoroughly enjoys having another major female character on set, as it gives her "a girl to share all the testosterone with." Discussing the character of Stacy, Dunst said: "Her character adds another type of woman that puts Peter in a position obviously with conflict with me and lying and this and all of those things just create more drama in our relationships." Dunst also said she was glad to have a year off between films, because the time away allowed her to truly renew her excitement for the franchise.

Well, look at what we have here -- it's our good friend Tobey Maguire pulling back his shirt to reveal a black Spidey suit. While there's not much to see, it's our first official (minus the questionable teaser poster) glance at that infamous black suit. But is it a real picture?

Spider-Man 3 invaded New York City this weekend, reportedly shooting a big elaborate scene in midtown. Lucky for us, a few fans managed to snap an assortment of photos and send them to AICN. Hooray! Since it's obvious these were taken within the city, the majority feel as if these pictures are the real deal. Along with this shot of Tobey is a first look at Topher Grace as Eddie Brock. Ya know, before he turns into Venom. As an added bonus, there's also a few far away shots of Captain Stacy (James Cromwell) and Gwen Stacy (Bryce Dallas Howard). With production all over the streets this weekend, look for a few more photos to pop up soon. When that happens, we've got you covered.

 

Marvel man Avi Arad recently held a phone discussion with AICN's Harry Knowles, obstentatiously to discuss a sequel to the Hulk film...but in the process he let drop perhaps the biggest bombshell Marvel movies have seen yet. Avi told Harry that Sam Raimi is hell bent on the idea of working none other than GWEN STACY into the Spider-Man movie continuum. How this is going to work out is anyone's guess...

For you casual fans not in the know, Gwen Stacy represents a huge part of Peter Parker's early life. She was a close friend of MJ's, and had a continually on-and-off romantic relationship with Peter which was consistantly hampered by the fact that he would stand her up to go fight villians (sound familiar?). Gwen was enormously popular among fans, and her death sent shockwaves through the Marvel community. It remains one of the most important and profound character deaths in the Marvelverse (perhaps because she is one of the very few characters to stay well and truly dead). You remember that scene in the first movie, wherein Mary Jane was dropped from the bridge by the Goblin, and Peter saved her in the nick of time? That story belongs to Gwen. Except in the comic book, when Spidey caught Gwen by the leg with his web the force of the sudden jerky stop snapped her neck.* It was devestating. Her death played a big part in drawing Peter and MJ into a closer, eventually romantic, relationship.

How on earth Sam plans on working Gwen in now that her story has been hijacked by MJ, I have no idea. I just hope it is done well, and doesn't feel ridiculously forced. A contract has apparently been signed with Bryce Howard; you can see a large picture of here over at AICN. Her hair, obviously, will be dyed very blond before shooting.

All I've got to say to this is...gwaaaah. To most of the world this probably won't seem like much more than a new romantic foil added in to create a love-triangle sort of deal- but to True Believers, Gwen represents so much more.  Should we be excited that her character is finally getting some on screen love, or angry that her story has been so irritatingly screwed over? 

*There are some people who argue that it was the shock of the fall that killed Gwen, but Stan Lee himself cleared up that issue many years ago.