The Watchers

The Watchers

Saturday 8 June 2013

Comic Book Movie Round-Up #3: The Amazing Spider-Man 2


So, the third of our comic book movie round-ups is for the sequel to the highest-grossing movie reboot of all time (to date). It is...


The Amazing Spider-Man 2

Director: Marc Webb
Writer: Screenplay by Alex Kurtzman & Roberto Orci and Jeff Pinkner from a story by James Vanderbilt
Provisional Release Date: April 18 2014 (UK); May 2 2014 (USA)

What We Know:

It was announced on July 5 2012 that The Amazing Spider-Man was the first in a new movie trilogy which would explore how Peter Parker's journey was 'shaped by the disappearance of his parents'.

The official synopsis for The Amazing Spider-Man 2 was released on February 6 2013:

"In The Amazing Spider-Man 2, for Peter Parker (Andrew Garfield), life is busy - between taking out the bad guys as Spider-Man and spending time with the person he loves, Gwen (Emma Stone), high school graduation can't come quickly enough. Peter hasn't forgotten about the promise he made to Gwen's father to protect her by staying away - but that's a promise he just can't keep. Things will change for Peter when a new villain, Electro (Jamie Foxx), emerges, an old friend, Harry Osborn (Dane DeHaan), returns, and Peter uncovers new clues about his past."

Who's In?:

Andrew Garfield (Peter Parker/Spiderman), Emma Stone (Gwen Stacey) and Sally Field (Aunt May) will all reprise their original roles from The Amazing Spider-Man, along with Martin Sheen (Uncle Ben) who confirmed his return in December 2012.

New cast members for this instalment include- as stated above- Oscar-winning actor Jamie Foxx who is playing Electro and Dane DeHaan (Lawless, The Place Beyond The Fines) as Harry Osborn.

The Descendants actress Shailene Woodley will appear in the film as Mary Jane Watson.

Another Oscar-winning actor, Chris Cooper, has been cast as Norman Osborn. Whether he will make the transition to the Green Goblin is unclear.

Paul Giamatti (Sideways, Cinderella Man) will also appear as The Rhino, another of Spider-Man's comic-book adversaries

The Office actor BJ Novak will appear as an Oscorp employee whilst Colm Feore (Thor, Chicago) and Felicity Jones (The Tempest, Like Crazy) are also rumoured to appear in as-yet unspecified roles.

Marton Csokas (The Lord Of The Rings) has been cast. IMDb has him listed as Dr. Kafka which, in the comic-books, is a female character and founder of the Ravencroft Institute for the Criminally Insane. It has not been officially confirmed who Csokas is playing.

Anything Else?

Sam Claflin (Snow White And The Huntsman), Eddie Redmayne (Les Miserables) and Douglas Booth (Christopher And His Kind) all screentested for the role of Harry Osborn before Dane DeHaan was confimed in the role in December 2012.

Writers Kurtzman and Orci have defended the use of multiple villains in the film, claiming that all are 'essential' to the film's plot. One of the main problems of Raimi's Spider-Man 3 was too many villains, not enough time. So long as they can be balanced and well-served by the script, I don't see a problem. However if they're just there 'just because' it's not going to work. We'll have to see what happens.

This will be the first Spider-Man film to be filmed entirely in New York State.

Filming started on February 4, 2013 (shooting on film rather than on digital) and several shots have been released, including those below:

Dane DeHaan as Harry Osborn
Spider-Man in action

Gwen Stacy (Emma Stone) meets Mary Jane Watson (Shailene Woodley)

Paul Giamatti as The Rhino

Jamie Foxx as Electro
Spider-Man's new suit
Several set photos that have emerged point to a major spoiler for the film's plot. Please click here to be redirected if you want to find out what it is.

Sony have recently denied rumours that they would sell the rights to the Spider-Man movie franchise to Marvel Studios; Sony co-chair Amy Pascal was quoted as saying it would 'never ever ever' happen. Spider-Man is the only Marvel creation whose movie rights are owned by Sony, so I can't see them wanting to relinquish them any time soon.

Footage from The Amazing Spider-Man 2 will be shown at this year's San Diego Comic-Con International in July.

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