I sometimes have trouble bringing myself to report on early rumors of casting in film, because so much can happen in the stages of an actress being offered a role, to her actually accepting it. However, with the wildfire spreading of this news and the fact that is brings out some much bigger news, I'll allow it.
We all knew that even though it ended up grossing not nearly as much as the first three films in the Sony Spider-Man franchise, there would be a sequel to the Marc Webb directed, The Amazing Spider-Man coming. There have been rumblings that Shailene Woodley is being added to the cast, and will be playing the lovely Mary Jane Parker who will once again make an appearance in the life of the web-slinger. There have also been reports that Harry Osborne will be back as well, but no indications on who they are targeting for that role. (Don't worry, as far as we can tell right now, Emma Stone will still reprise her role as Gwen Stacy. Her negotiations have not concluded, but I would be surprised if they fell apart now.) This seems to be a different direction for "The Amazing" series, as the first film it attempted to stand out from the first three movies in the franchise and explore the early years of Peter Parker's life in high school. With the addition of these characters, it seems as if they will be going back to the more widely known universe.
I like Shailene Woodley as an actress and after seeing her in The Descendants wondered how long it would take her to land a huge role in a film. If it isn't this one, there will be another, but there is part of me that it will be this so she can just help round out an already awesome case and hopefully they can all breath some life in to the comic book world this time.
There are also reports that the character Electro is on the casting breakdown that went out, so it is likely the villain will also be seen in this new film. Production doesn't start until next year, so that could change, but looks like they are at least considering it.
Andrew Garfield will once again play Spidey and Marc Webb will be back as a director of this sequel.
I am not a Spider-Man aficionado by any means, and have watched the films from a purely entertainment driven perspective. In this regard, I am happy to see Mary Jane Parker back in the mix.
What are your thoughts? Good News? Bad News? Happy News? Sad News?
I really liked Shailene Woodley in The Descendants. Hopefully they at least make the inevitable love triangle more interesting than Spider-Man 3.
No photo shoots in skyscrapers!
I believe there's no e at the end of Osborn.
And you can't have Harry there without Normy!
why not link to the character pages??
i am still surprised they didn't sign Stone on to a multiple movie deal in the first place. most movies do that, especially when the chances of a sequel are that high.
@VioletEyedDragon said:
Maybe they plan to kill Gwen Stacey in the story. In the comics, Gwen Stacey is currently dead and the story that killed her off is one of Spider-Man's most memorable arcs.
Edit: That explained nothing. Perhaps Stone's lawyers knew that Spider-man was going to be a hit and were skilled enough to get a contract that only required to Emma to do one movie so she could get a better deal for the sequel. The other explanation is that the executives were not thinking ahead or underestimated Emma's value. Maybe they thought the could replace Emma like they did with Edward Norton, but discovered that she had a big fan base.
@VioletEyedDragon: @Acura_Max: Both Webb and Garfield went through negotiations for the sequel as well as far as I know. Emmas just seem to be taking a bit longer.
@Acura_Max: @The_Patriarch: It just seems a little weird that Sony didn't sign everyone on right away. For example, when they were making X-MEN: FIRST CLASS they signed everyone on for multiple movies; Lionsgate is making CATCHING FIRE so fast since Jennifer Lawrence must do X-MEN movies whenever they tell her too (and she isn't even that big a character in the series). I know TWILIGHT, SNOW WHITE AND THE HUNTSMAN, and THE HUNGER GAMES signed on even the most minor characters for the whole series. Generally if an actor refuses to sign a multi-picture deal they refuse to sign them at all; I didn't know Stone had the star-power to not sign for three of four movies.
I'm mainly glad that Webb is back to direct. I enjoyed this remake much more than what the previous trilogy turned into. It had better character development and made the whole universe feel more believable and less "cartoony". Hopefully diving deeper into the Spider-Man mythos doesn't mean the tone has to change.
I've never loved any of the spiderman movies, but this remake seems like a step in the right direction (see: Emma Stone). Would prefer Shocker over Electro, but eh
@VioletEyedDragon: Just because a studio has options for its cast doesnt mean negotiations don't take place. You bring up Twilight which famously recast Rachelle Lefevre because of a minor scheduling conflict, and got really close to recasting Ashley Greene & Kellan Lutz because they negotiated for a larger salary. Either way, I can't say anything other than the fact that the news reports I read on this thing stated that Webb and Garfield also went through negotiations. So maybe Sony has options on them, without the specific economic details ironed out in advance.
No Kraven the Hunter? No offense but Electro is a mediocre villain at best. I wasn't too impressed by the remake but I thought it was competently done and better then that comedy Spider-Man 3.