A Spider-Man Who Could Have Been

Dear God, I finally found the script (with storyboards) of James Cameron's Spider-Man movie.

For those who never knew, shortly after T2 Cameron had a strong desire to make Spider-Man his next directorial effort. Corolco Pictures hurried out to buy the rights in order to supplicate their biggest moneymaking figure and to secure their next big blockbuster.

Problems arose as various studios fought over the rights to Spider-Man (no one knew who the hell owned the rights due to a series of nightmarish events as various producers bought, sold, and traded the rights with vague understandings of exactly what those rights really were)and were further compounded by the problem of Marvel Comics going bankrupt (and the publisher thus declaring the property reverted back to them in order to make much needed money) which drew out the various question of who owned the movie rights for close to a decade. In that time, James Cameron wrote a script for use on the picture which never was filmed due to Cameron's interest waning as the trial went on and his apparent retirement after the masterpiece which was Titanic. It would seem Cameron simply didn't have the balls to attempt another movie for fear of being compared to what was arguably his best picture.

As to the script, it is much different in tone from the Raimi version though some of the scenes were used (and diluted for a younger, more general audience) . I will say I prefer Cameron's much more adult take on Spider-Man. He feels realized perfectly especially for a city like NYC. Sorry, but I could never really believe in Raimi's version of Peter. A wimp like that surviving in the Big Apple was not only ludicrous but highly grating. Raimi's Spidey was a whining little wimp. Cameron's Spidey not only had an inner strength but a much more noble, albeit juvenile, slant. It's also not nearly as over the top as Raimi's Spidey would become with Part 2 being the only redeemable part of the series with Part 1 being far too campy with Goblin/Dafoe, the wrestling scene, and other characterizations/plot points I nitpick over while Part 3 was shallow, overpacked, and not really believable in even a comic book universe. Cameron's Spidey lives in a gritty, violent, very real world who doesn't wear some designer superhero suit. The villains are cold blooded, thought out, and driven.

The part which draws me most is the fact that Cameron has the character nailed much better than Raimi's scripts ever did. There are the quips and a very real story of angst as Parker matures and becomes a man. This would not have had Maguire as the lead. I don't care how you try to twist the character, Maguire never would have come across as a joking, strong willed Peter Parker. Maguire has always based his Parker more along the lines of Reeve's Clark Kent rather than what Parker really should have been: a goofy kid trying to figure out just who the hell he really was. Parker's shy, easily pushed around personality does not jive with the empowerment he discovers through becoming Spider-Man. Raimi and Maguire play Peter Parker as two separate individuals while Cameron did the right thing showing them to be one and the same.

You can catch that script here. Enjoy what could have been, my fellows.