Spider-Man Reboot Will be Grittier, Contemporary

Just yesterday, news broke that Sony Pictures no longer plans on continuing their relationship with director Sam Raimi or his Spider-Man 4 sequel. Instead they’ve decided to spawn a reboot that will center on a younger, high school age Peter Parker, which means the previous cast need not apply. Over at EW, they’ve got the lowdown on the new script that will take the franchise into a new direction, which is described as contemporary and gritty.

The new Spider-Man will take a page out of Christopher Nolan‘s book and will have a darker, more realistic tone to it. Sony wants a Batman Begins type revival for the series, and they believe James Vanderbilt’s screenplay can do that. A lot of people are shocked that the studio plans to reboot the series so soon, by the time it’s released in 2012 only 5 years would have passed since Spider-Man 3. At least with Batman there was a good 7 or 8 years before Nolan and his crew got a hold of the property.

According to the site, Sony always planned on rebooting the series in 2012, but wanted to have the old cast together for one last sequel in 2011. That’s the dumbest time line I’ve ever heard, and I find it hard to believe that someone thought that would actually work, but OK. Either way, the new story will deal with a young Peter battling some hardcore issues prevalent in today’s society. A new director hasn’t been named as of yet, but Marc Webb‘s name has popped up, as well as Gary Ross, and even Michael Bay (yeesh!).

I’m not sure how I feel about this new Spider-Man. The reason Batman Begins worked so well is because it wasn’t approached like a comic book film, and it tapped into the core of the character. Nolan filled the cast with talented, and respected actors who actually liked the material. It’s going to be hard for them to find someone who can pull off that magic, not everyone can do it.

What do you think of Spider-Man’s new direction? Do you think Sony made the right decision?