Spider-Man 4: I Told Y'All So!!!

[BaltimoreLauren]

"While picking producer Todd Black's brain about "The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3," I asked a few questions about the upcoming "Spider-Man 4." Black was understandably cryptic, but here's what I did learn:

 

- Kirsten Dunst is definitely on board. Last month, director Sam Raimi was quoted as saying he didn't know if the actor was going to sign up to play Mary Jane again, but it appears that she has.

 

- Contrary to online rumors, it doesn't look like the -script will feature a wedding between Mary Jane and Peter Parker. Black had no knowledge of that subplot.

 

- Also contrary to online rumors (but really, are there any other kind?), the villain will not be Morbius the vampire. Sure, vampires are hot, but Black squashed that rumor completely.

 

- As for who the villain will be, Black had this to say: "We're just coming up with who the villain's going to be now. We'll be shooting in New York again. Trust me, people will appreciate who we pick, because it'll be a big part of New York."

 

So who could it be? What Spidey villain has ties to New York City? Let's speculate after the jump.

 

Black also confirmed that the villain will be one of Spidey's foes from the comic, not a character invented for the film. And we can assume it'll be one of the hero's classic rogues. Just four movies in, the producers won't be resorting to B-listers. So with the help of this list, I have two guesses. And again, the key is that the villain has a more specific tie to New York City than just living there. That narrows the list considerably.

 

 

1. Kraven the Hunter. He's a former big-game hunter who captured and tormented Spider-Man in a famously dark story from the 1980s. But as far as his ties to New York? Not particularly strong, beyond being positioned as a man out of place, because he's a big-game hunter in an urban area.

 

 

2. That leaves the best guess: the Kingpin. He's the leader of organized crime in Gotham, and is about as New Yorky as a villain can get. The character already appeared in Fox's "Daredevil" a few years back, and it's unclear if that studio still owns the rights. But if Sony has worked out a deal, it seems Kingpin would be a solid choice."

 

http://blogs.nypost.com/movies/archives/2009/06/exclusive_spide.html

[Mac Man]

Lauren, I'd be more inclined to think Kingpin if it wasn't for the Daredevil movie. With SM 3 being weak in it's reception by fans and critics alike, I don't think they'd want to have any ties to a tank movie like DD which Kingpin MIGHT create--even if they scrap Michael Duncan Clarke and opt to a new actor. Plus, I'm not as sure Spider-Man fighting a crime syndicate will be as exciting for the audience thereby necessitating Kingpin's outsourcing a superpowered hitman (as he often does in USM).

 

[BaltimoreLauren]

When i read that blog post, that was exactly what I thought. Kingpin would be a terrible villain for Spidey to fight. I'm inclined to believe it will be Kraven. Or at least, I hope it is.

[fantastic_four]

for me. As a Spidey fanatic, seeing him on the big screen for the first time made me feel like a kid. Although I thought SM 2 was a little better, the excitement I felt sitting in the theater as SM was starting factors heavily into my overall perception of the movie.

 

I liked Batman Begins better than TDK. My cousin, who is a huge Batman freak, agrees.

 

I go back and forth on whether or not Iron Man was better than TDK. I have to watch them both again. I think the problem here is that my expectations of Iron Man were really low, while all TDK hype had me expecting the second coming.

 

The DK hype began for me in 2007. I saw Begins in the theatre and thought it was decent. However, upon repeat viewings in 2007, I liked it more and more. When I tried to pinpoint why, I realized it wasn't so much Bale...wasn't so much Neeson, although he was great in the film...and wasn't so much Oldman or Holmes. It was all Christopher Nolan. He made Batman seem so much more real than I had ever seen him before. It became my second-favorite movie behind Spider-Man 2, and I was hopeful about the Dark Knight.

 

As much as I like Begins...there's just nothing in it that glows like Heath Ledger did. And Nolan's direction and editing were simply twice as good. It moves along faster, and somehow, even with two villains, gives them roughly equal screen time, develops them both incredibly well, ties them together with the rest of the story and plot masterfully well, and just never lets up. Nolan still needs to learn how to shoot a fight scene well, as they're almost always too dark, fast, and close-up, but he's so good at everything else, it's easy to forgive. Nolan probably would prefer not to direct another superhero film, but Warner Brothers will be kissing his derrierre for at least another 2-3 years, so the odds are good.

 

Sounds like we've mostly got the same list of favorites though, as mine go:

 

1. The Dark Knight

2. Spider-Man 2

3. Batman Begins

4. Spider-Man

5. Iron Man

[asr0462]

They should just be honest and take a page from Spaceballs and call it Spider-Man 4: The Search For More Money .

[Ares]

The Spider-man 4 villans Revealed

[asr0462]

The Spider-man 4 villans Revealed

 

Looks like Kraven should switch to Lite beer.

[PEP]

He should also not mix match his leopard and zebra prints.

[cloudofwit]

He should also not mix match his leopard and zebra prints.

 

:think:

[Rich_Henn]

Kraven's Last Hunt.

 

THAT should be the story.

Get some balls, take it all the way to the big suicide finish.

[NelsonAI]

MJ and Peter break up. Less focus on Peter's love life this go around. They could introduce the Black Cat in the opening credits sequence as she breaks into a penthouse overlooking Central Park and a NYC skyline. All you need is a cameo - it's all about the licensing of action figures. .

 

The Lizard would be great with the CGI battle scenes against Spidey. The torment of Dr. Connors is a the story that rivals Spidey. Kids love "dinosaur like toys" - Marvel will always keep an eye on licensing revenue.

 

Here's hoping Spidey 4 will be better than Spidey 3.

 

Cheers!

N