1) Spider-Man
Without Sam Raimi’s original Spider-Man trilogy, superhero movies probably wouldn’t be as popular as they are today, yet it’s hard to deny that the third instalment was less well received than the others. Too many villains, too much crappy dialogue, too much emo dancing… Spider-Man 3 was slammed by the majority of critics, prompting Sony to rethink their flagship franchise.
Cut to a few short years later and an unnecessary reboot that came far too soon after the original trilogy. The Amazing Spider-Man and its sequel certainly had their strong points, including a standout performance from Andrew Garfield as everyone’s favourite web slinger, but the new movies ultimately failed to live up to the studio’s high expectations.
An obvious silver lining to this was the unprecedented deal that Sony made with Marvel, reverting all rights to Marvel Studios. Fans everywhere rejoiced at the idea of Spider-Man finally coming home and interacting with other members of the MCU, something that Marvel are clearly keen to capitalize on, as they plan on featuring the webslinger in a number of upcoming movies, starting with Captain America: Civil War.
The issue here is not that Spider-Man will be returning to the big screen sooner than originally thought. The problem is that Marvel have already decided to produce a solo Spidey film for 2017, making this the sixth movie starring the wallcrawler in fifteen years. Perhaps this would be easier to stomach if Garfield had been kept in the role, but Marvel Studios have decided to choose a third actor to take on the part.
Personally, I’m a huge fan of Spider-Man, but I can’t imagine audiences being particularly thrilled at the prospect of yet another Spidey film in such a short space of time. We’re already going to get our fix of Peter Parker through other Marvel movies, so why does the studio feel the need to rush out another solo venture so soon? Oh yeah. Money. Let’s just hope this decision doesn’t backfire, putting audiences off what could still be the studio’s most popular hero yet.
Tell us, which franchise needs to die most? Do any of these deserve a second chance? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.Â
