Reboots are often found in the comic book industry with new artists and writers taking on the old material in a new way for a new generation of readers. In fact comic power house DC, who are behind household favourites like Superman and Batman, have recently started their franchise again at Issue 1 in a bid to bring in new readers. So it is no surprise that Marvel, in this economic climate where safe bets are the new game plan, have decided to reboot their most popular and financially profitable franchise: Spiderman.
The reboot brings in a talented cast to help it stand out. Peter Parker is played by Andrew Garfield who impressed both Hollywood and audiences last year with his portrayal of Eduardo in The Social Network. Opposite him will be the hot young star Emma Stone who has gone back to her natural blonde roots to play Gwen Stacey. Gwen only had a short appearance in the last movie franchise, but fans will know she plays an essential part in the original story of Spiderman; Stone will make Gwen a stronger character than your average damsel in distress (sorry Natalie, but we all know Thor could have been done without you). Supporting these two will be Rhys Ifans, who plays Dr Conners and his slightly less than human alter ego The Lizard, and Sally Field, who plays Aunt May and has previous experience with super hero offspring, having played Martha Kent in the 90’s TV show The New Adventures of Superman.
This cast make it seem as if this reboot may in fact be good. Add to it the chance that some of the roof top swinging may be filmed in 3D and people should be getting excited. However, it is hard to know who the target audience is. Fans who have already seen the Tobey Maguire version have formed their opinions on the wall crawler’s movie credibility, whilst new viewers may stay away from a franchise that has needed to be rebooted less than ten years after the original was released.
It may be that both fans and new audiences give the film a shot due to its likable and talented cast, and if this is the case it could be a gold mine for Marvel. If people’s scepticism of reboots triumphs however, this could prove a major blunder for the studio.
Reboots are often found in the comic book industry with new artists and writers taking on the old material in a new way for a new generation of readers. In fact comic power house DC, who are behind household favourites like Superman and Batman, have recently started their franchise again at Issue 1 in a bid to bring in new readers. So it is no surprise that Marvel, in this economic climate where safe bets are the new game plan, have decided to reboot their most popular and financially profitable franchise: Spiderman.
The reboot brings in a talented cast to help it stand out. Peter Parker is played by Andrew Garfield who impressed both Hollywood and audiences last year with his portrayal of Eduardo in The Social Network. Opposite him will be the hot young star Emma Stone who has gone back to her natural blonde roots to play Gwen Stacey. Gwen only had a short appearance in the last movie franchise, but fans will know she plays an essential part in the original story of Spiderman; Stone will make Gwen a stronger character than your average damsel in distress (sorry Natalie, but we all know Thor could have been done without you). Supporting these two will be Rhys Ifans, who plays Dr Conners and his slightly less than human alter ego The Lizard, and Sally Field, who plays Aunt May and has previous experience with super hero offspring, having played Martha Kent in the 90’s TV show The New Adventures of Superman.
This cast make it seem as if this reboot may in fact be good. Add to it the chance that some of the roof top swinging may be filmed in 3D and people should be getting excited. However, it is hard to know who the target audience is. Fans who have already seen the Tobey Maguire version have formed their opinions on the wall crawler’s movie credibility, whilst new viewers may stay away from a franchise that has needed to be rebooted less than ten years after the original was released. It may be that both fans and new audiences give the film a shot due to its likable and talented cast, and if this is the case it could be a gold mine for Marvel. If people’s scepticism of reboots triumphs however, this could prove a major blunder for the studio.
