A few days ago, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 star Andrew Garfield weighed in on the possibility of seeing a Miles Morales version of the titular web slinger up on the big screen someday, perhaps in an Ultimate Spider-Man movie. In the comics, Morales takes over the mantle of Spider-Man after the death of Peter Parker, and Garfield claimed it was an important story that he’d like to explore somewhere down the line.
The producers, on the other hand, aren’t interested. At all.
With Sony’s Spider-Man franchise expanding into a “cinematic universe,” we have to wonder what their long-term plans are. It’s hard to build such a thing around one character, which has led them to greenlight spin-off films for villains like Venom and the Sinister Six. Allowing another character to don the red-and-blue spandex seemed like a logical way to expand the franchise, with or without a “death of Peter Parker” storyline, but at this point in time, it’s not even being considered.
Avi Arad and co-producer Matt Tolmach recently spoke with The Playlist about their plans for the franchise. When asked about what would happen after The Amazing Spider-Man 3 (which Garfield and Webb have confirmed will be their last Spidey film), they said:
Arad: “Spider-Man is the biggest character and can be filled in by able actors; he’s survived for over 50 years. And I think that he will around for at least another 100 years or more. He is just is one of the most enduring role models and one of the only superheroes who starts at this age and keeps going.”
Tolmach: “We’re also nowhere near there. Because we’ve got “Sinister Six,” “Venom,” “Spider-Man 3.” Here is what we will tell you: they all come out of the universe of Spider-Man. Who you see, who you don’t see, we’re not going to tell you now. But we’re nowhere near done with them.”
The idea of recasting Garfield, four films into a new cinematic universe, is a bit troubling. The idea of Miles Morales or any other Spider-Men, like Ben Reilly or Miguel O’Hara on the other hand, is more intriguing. When asked about one of them appearing in the franchise someday, they said:
Tolmach: “No.”
Arad: “No. The one thing you cannot do, when you have a phenomena that has stood the test of time, you have to be true to the real character inside – who is Peter Parker? What are the biggest effects on his life? Then you can draw in time, and you can consider today’s world in many ways. But to have multiple ones… I don’t know if you remember, but Marvel tried it. And it was almost the end of Spider-Man.”
Arad then stated that the only Spider-Man in the cinematic realm will “absolutely” be Peter Parker. So, there we have it.
From a business standpoint, this is a bit baffling, because while I get that Parker is a beloved character, and certainly the most recognizable Spider-Man, the producers are selling themselves short by disregarding any possibility of someone like Morales showing up.
Of course, things could always change, especially when we’re still at least four years away from The Amazing Spider-Man 4. Maybe by then they’ll have a new grasp on how to continue the franchise without Garfield.
Until that day comes though, tell us, what would you like to see happen with this franchise? Would you be excited to have Miles Morales or Ben Reilly as Spider-Man in a movie? Or do you think Peter Parker is the one and only web slinger destined for the big screen? Sound off in the comments below!
