Today's News: Spidey slings into action two more times

Here's a bit of news of mine that the guys at MovieScene posted two days too late, oddly enough:

http://www.moviescene.nl/p/148014/nog_twee_amazing_spider-man_sequels_in_de_planning

There's a word for this type of thing: overkill. And in Sony's case, there's also the element of 'not learning from past mistakes' involved. After all, the same studio kicked production of Sam Raimi's Spider-Man 4 into gear before Spider-Man 3 had started to break box office records: in fact it had barely arrived in theaters at all. The negative backlash for that film, coupled with the age old 'creative differences' - i.e., a big falling out - between studio and director caused that project to backfire, making the studio lose a fair bit of money, not to mention the webhead's fanbase's respect. Yet here we are again: Amazing Spidey 2 hasn't even finished production yet, but Sony smells money. Lots of it apparently, giving the huge step they are taking with announcing no less than two (!) additional sequels. They're trying to make it look like they're thinking long term here, but compared to their rival Marvel Studios they only seem to be showing the exact opposite, namely a lack of careful planning.

Marvel is breaking new ground with establishing an extensive Marvel Cinematic Universe, comprehensive for new or casual viewers yet increasingly appealing for (comic book) fans, in giving us films we can both enjoy on their own and in a broader context. They do so in phases, breaking down the establishment of this universe in smaller units of four or five separate films while working up to a big film (currently The Avengers 2) each time. And so a vast universe grows on the big screen, without becoming overly convoluted but instead accessible for all, even to those who haven't seen any or all of the other Marvel films. Sony however has a hard time properly handling a single character (though it must be said, since Spider-Man is undoubtedly the most popular and well known of the Marvel superheroes, the stakes are high, and so are the expectations the audience carries). It started out successfully under Raimi's care until he went overboard with Spider-Man 3, adding to many characters and plot lines to a single movie, which ended feeling disappointing in most of them. The box office certainly wasn't hurt because of that fact though, as the third movie ended up the highest grossing in the franchise. However, critics and fans responded mostly negatively to the film. Had Sony waited patiently for the general reception of the film they might not have rushed pre-production of Spider-Man 4. Instead, they did, to dire consequences for the project and Raimi's involvement with the franchise.

A movie scrapped, a director leaving the studio, the stars refusing to participate without Raimi; it's not illogical the studio opted for a reboot to start fresh, even though that wasn't what the fans wanted. And so we got The Amazing Spider-Man within a decade after the premiere of its counterpart in the first Spidey trilogy. It too left a lot to be desired, but once again proved a box office smash. So there's a definite precedence for the sequel currently in production, but there's seems to be little for two more sequels. Or is there? Maybe Sony has actually taken a hint from Marvel's approach to its movies and the studio has developed a long term plan, but so far there's nothing to suggest that (and there probably won't be until TAS-M2 hits theaters). It just feels Sony is making the same mistakes all over again, except doubly so this time (though it's likely prepping part 4 will be on hold until part 3 is well underway). So far, the statement Sony clearly makes with regards to "its" Spider-Man is that the studio won't let go of the rights to the character. Ever. It's no surprise, considering Spidey's webshooters might as well shoot money for the studio execs, but for the legions of fans who were hoping Marvel and Sony would come to see eye to eye and join forces to incorporate Spider-Man into the Marvel Cinematic Universe - and to see him become an Avenger in his own right - the news of Sony's pair of sequels will come as a disappointment. Spider-Man will just have to continue going his own way in his own universe, without counting on back-up from his fellow superheroes when super villains are roughing him up. And us, the audience, just has to hope Sony won't fall into its own pitfalls again, since there's no web to catch them if they do. There's only the option of rebooting the franchise yet again, something nobody wants at this point (let alone five years in the future). Or maybe Sony ought to make it easy on itself and sell the Spidey rights back to Marvel after all...