Spider-Man 4 is already teh awesome!
Raimi will have total creative control for Spider-Man 4
By
David Bentley
DIRECTOR Sam Raimi has admitted he had no creative control over the much-disliked Spider-Man 3 - but he has assured fans he will have a far greater say in the web-spinner's next film outing.
Asked why he had originally committed to a franchise where total control was unlikely, he said: "Well, I had never had it. Only now do I have it with [upcoming horror movie] Drag Me to Hell and the new Spider-Man film.
"That's part of the reason I'm so excited about the possibility of making this new Spider-Man, which I'm really hoping I can make. I love the characters still and I've got a lot more creative control than I ever had.
"They really gave me a tremendous amount of control on the first two films, actually. But then there were different opinions on the third film and I didn't really have creative control, so to speak."
Was he referring to Venom, the character whose movie version particularly upset fanboys? In the interview with Empire magazine, Raimi said: "I don't even want to comment on Venom, because I know he's a great character and all the fans love him. I never want to say anything bad about a much-beloved character because usually it turns out that I'm the one that doesn't understand what makes it great."
Spider-Man is, of course, a Marvel comic book and there were reports at the time that Marvel Entertainment chief creative officer Avi Arad (who is also chairman of Marvel Studios) had insisted on Venom (pictured below) being included in the third movie.
Raimi's response to that was: "I wouldn't say it was anybody in particular. It was just that a lot of people had different ideas on what the film should be, and I think - good or bad - the film simply represents exactly the working situation where a lot of people have a lot of good ideas about what the film should be."
So were there too many cooks in the kitchen? He said: "I don't want to necessarily say that. I don't want to say anything disparaging about my friends and partners on the film.
"The best way for me to move forward on films, I realise...and this was a lesson I had to learn for myself...is that I've gotta be the singular voice that makes the creative choices on the film.
"I love Spider-Man so much that I'd like to continue telling Spider-Man stories but only under those circumstances where I think I can honour him. I don't think I can honour him any other way."
Earlier this month Raimi did give an
update on Spider-Man 4, but he declined to add any more information: "I haven't yet talked to my producers about what they want to reveal. It's such a long way off that I'd rather not talk about it in case I say things that they didn't want me to reveal."
There have been rumours online that Carnage and Electro will be the villains in the next instalment, but this is probably wild speculation or wishful thinking.
