Now that we’re less than two weeks away from SPIDERMAN 3, there’s been a lot of chatter about what the plans are for the fourth installment. Both Sam Raimi and Tobey Maguire have said they’re hesitant to continue the franchise. We’re hearing crazy quotes from people like Kirsten Dunst, who claims, “…audiences aren’t stupid. It’d be a big flop without me, Tobey, or Sam. That would be really not the smartest move. But they know that already. [Sony co-chair] Amy Pascal would never do that.”
Uh, sorry gal, but that’s simply not true. SPIDERMAN is a brandname. Columbia production president Matt Tolmach said: ”Listen, we’re making Spider-Man 4. Our hope, dream, and intention is to do it with Sam…. But I don’t have a crystal ball.” i.e. As soon as you folks don’t commit, we’re open to ANYBODY! (I personally could live a very happy life if Dunst wasn’t involved at all.)
Rumors of Sam Raimi taking the reins on THE HOBBIT further complicate things. With all eyes on Sam the man at the moment, the EVIL DEAD director commented on both projects to Sci Fi Wire, “honestly.”
In relation to SPIDEY 4, he says: “For me to come back, I’d have to—when I’m done with all of this—have a breather and then look at the character and say, ‘Where does he next have to grow to? Where can he now develop in a meaningful way? And if I could recognize, honestly, a real deficit that he and we could fashion a story [around], … where this young man could learn his next life lesson in a meaningful way, and that we could make a good story out of it, then I would die to direct the picture. … I honestly don’t think I could do a good job unless I understood that about Peter for the fourth one.”
As far as directing the prequel to the little-known franchise known as LORD OF THE RINGS, Raimi confirmed that he’s talked with New Line boss Robert Shaye about working on it.
“I spoke to him once, so it’s a little more overblown, I think. That’s why I don’t want to pretend that it’s bigger than it is. I had one conversation about the possibility of it, and that’s really where it’s at.”
Raimi is also protective of Peter Jackson, who’s feelings he doesn’t want to dump on should he agree to the gig. “I’d have to know that he was OK with it. It’s really his picture and Bob Shaye’s picture. The truth is, I just don’t know what I’m going to do next. That’s the most honest answer I can give you. And I can’t honestly say, even though I have spoken to Bob Shaye, that I don’t know that I could honestly say that anything’s been offered to me until some time in the future, because it just wouldn’t be exactly right. Or true.”
If anyone can “honestly” decipher that last sentence, let me know. But MY Spidey sense is tingling, and its telling me Sam’s got his sights set on being the biggest director in the biz. The highway to being the next Spielberg is paved with pages from THE HOBBIT, and Raimi is probably the only director out there that won’t receive a whipping from fans if he takes over the franchise. Can you imagine if Michael Bay were announced? Hordes of fanboys would wash upon Hollywood like a swarm of Locusts and tear the place apart. It would actually be kinda cool…
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