Now that we’ve seen the full teaser trailer for next summer’s Amazing Spider-Man, some of those associated with the project are talking about the upcoming superhero film.
Director Mark Webb said that he wanted to “reinvent” Spidey for a new generation of fans.
“[Spider-Man]’s been around since the 1960s,” Webb tells the Los Angeles Times. “The wealth of material here – whether it’s story or character – is really profound but I also feel it’s my responsibility to reinvent it in some ways.”
Webb went on to describe how he conceived of a fresh angle for the character.
“Peter Parker is a science whiz,” Webb said. “If you look back to the early Stan Lee and Steve Ditko comics, he’s a nerd with big glasses. The idea of what a nerd is has changed in 40 or 50 years. Nerds are no longer pariahs and knowing how to write computer code is no longer a [mocked] quality.
“What was important in those early comics was this notion that Peter Parker is an outsider and how we define that in a contemporary context.”
Actress Emma Stone, who plays Gwen Stacy in the movie says the new approach helped her in creating the character on-screen. Stone says she did a bit of research before she took on the role.
“I read a comprehensive book on the Stacys, and a few of the comics,” she tells the Hollywood Reporter. “Gwen is, I think, maybe a little different in the movie than in the comics. We’re kind of staying true to the comics and also building our own thing. I hope people respond to it!”
In this case, watching a retelling of the same movie only a few years ago makes no sense. I would have treated this new spiderman as they do with James Bond. There is no need to start all over again. There is no need to re-invent the web. Just tell us a great story.