Marc Webb tops Spider-Man reboot directorial candidates

Like it or not, the Spidey reboot is happening. And now Deadline Hollywood’s Mike Fleming is reporting that among a long list of rumored directors, (500) DAYS OF SUMMER helmer Marc Webb is sitting at the top to take over the franchise. And believe me, I’ve been wracking my brain for the last five minutes trying to come up with a doozy of a Spider/Webb joke. I have failed.

Nevertheless, Webb is the top candidate coming off the strong critical success of his aforementioned debut feature film. And though the move might seem a bit surprising at first, it actually makes perfect sense when you take into account what the studio is trying to now do with the franchise.

From Deadline Hollywood: “What has Sony execs excited is the fact that (500) Days of Summer introduced a director with a grasp of how to depict the way young people think and feel. This is critical because the Jamie Vanderbilt script covers the formative years of a high school-aged Peter Parker, and that POV is as important as the action sequences.”

The good news to take from this is that it seems Sony is at least interested in making the non-action stuff work. Now whether Webb is actually the guy to make that come to fruition is I think still highly debatable. Because he’s new, he’ll be someone that the studio can still control. Forget about the James Camerons and the Michael Bays. Their price tags and their Nazi-like rule of their sets kind of defeats the purpose of what the studio wants in the first place. So a directorial choice like this is definitely what we should be expecting.

And of course, this is going to bring about talk of Joseph Gordon-Levitt playing the titular hero. Here’s the thing – he’s about to turn 29 years old. Sure he looks young and could definitely play younger, but this is a Spider-Man focused on Peter Parker’s formative high school years. And what’s more, I think Levitt is just outside the age group appeal for whom this film seems to be targeting. Think TWILIGHT.

If I had to pick a Spidey, I’d go with Anton Yelchin.