Well, I know many people are probably tired of fancasts and fanfics, but I thought I'd throw my 2 cents in. This is a plan for a 6 film reboot of Spider-Man. I've tried to stay away from fancasting cliches, so you'll see no Gerard for Kraven or Jake G for Spidey, though I'm sure a couple of these have been suggested before. If you disagree with my choices or ideas, I welcome constructive criticism and invitations to debate, but please keep it constructive, and keep an eye on the spelling.
Ok, first up, the man himself.
While my knowledge of Bret Harrison is restricted to Reaper, his best known work, I believe he would be perfect for the main role. Not only does he bear a similar appearance to Peter, he has proven that he suits quickfire wit, and I while his role on Reaper may be of an apathetic slacker, I think he would be fairly convincing as a young genius such as Peter. Most importantly, I think he could provide the emotion growth that Tobey Maguire’s portrayal has lacked completely.
For Gwen, I chose Emilie De Ravin, as I believe she’d provide a much needed innocence to the role, while retaining an intellectual quality equalling Peter’s.
My main reason for this choice was Gary Oldman’s performance in Leon, where he demonstrates an ability to smoothly alternate between cool and collected & absolutely batshit insane. Need I say more?
Like Oldman, Emile Hirsch seems completely capable of switching mood at the press of a button. Add to that his confident, domineering look, and I believe he makes the perfect Harry.
The first recast I decided on. Nick Stahl, to me, has the perfect image for a desperate man out for revenge, where Eddie Brock’s path eventually leads, and I think his performance in Sin City is an example of why he should also voice Venom (with distortion obviously).
Emma Stone has all the attributes of Mary Jane that I believe Kirsten Dunst lacked: she’s strong willed, confident, whereas Dunst seemed like a pushover, and lacked the sass I expected from the character. In addition, Dunst is attractive, sure, but she’s hardly a knockout. Enter Emma.
I would see Shocker in this as a paunchy, loudmouthed fool, incompetent and constantly being strung up during lame heist attempts, pure comic relief. Now, tell me John DiMaggio doesn’t fit that.
For Rhino, you’d need a man capable of expressing nothing but primal rage at top volume. My choice: Former punk legend and nowadays actor and ‘spoken word’ performer Henry Rollins.
Kraven, for me, was difficlt, but eventually I settled on Guy Pearce. His role in Memento is similar in nature to my Kraven: obsessive, focused and ruthless in his dedication.
While I think Michael Clarke Duncan did an incredible job in Daredevil, one of the best cast members in that film, I am going for a total reboot. I picked John Rhys-Davies because, while most know him as Gimli in the LotR franchise, he has played the role of an arrogant genius before rather well, for example, in cult Sci-Fi show Sliders.
I know, Jackie Earl Haley is a bit flavour of the year, popping up everywhere, but as I favour the Ultimate version of Electro, a living weapon, he seems perfectly suited. As proven in Little Children and Watchmen, he can both be quietly sinister and resemble a mad dog if needed.
As I understand it, Mac Gargan is a fairly average New Yorker in terms of intellect; crass, hot tempered, imbued with street-smarts. For this, I though Kevin Dillon was a good fit for the role.
Again, I think Alfred Molina put forward a fantastic portrayal of Doc Ock already, but as this is a reboot, I though Tim Robbins would provide the same unstable mastermind aspect, perhaps adding more capacity to pity him than Molina did.
Next, Vulture. Everyone seems to be putting forward Ben Kingsley, and while he does have great presence, I think he would lack the ability to properly demonstrate Vulture’s maniacal need for revenge that my storyline would demand. Who has played one of the most vengeful characters in movie history (as well as voicing an animated Vulture recently)? None other than Robert Englund: Freddy himself.
Finally, antagonist of the Venom spinoff, Carnage. This is a fairly obvious choice, and I know I’m just the latest to say the role should go to Robert Knepper. Knepper has demonstrated a distinct ability to unsettle and terrify. While he may have typecast himself, there’s no doubt that no-one plays sadistic killer like Knepper.
Ok, that’s casting done, onto the story:
Spiderman
The first film follows the protagonist a few months after he receives his powers (shown in a series of short flashback dispersed throughout the film). This Spiderman is in his early 20’s, working at the Bugle. Gwen Stacy and Harry Osborne feature as close friends, and Harry’s father Norman acts as a surrogate father figure. Costumed thug Rhino begins wreaking havoc in the city, and after besting Spiderman more than once, he draws the attention of obsessive hunter Sergei “Kraven” Kravinoff. Kraven kills Rhino in cold blood in front of the city before setting his sights on the city’s other resident “manimal”. Eventually, Kraven is defeated and imprisoned for the murder of Rhino.
Spiderman 2
This introduces Kingpin as a dominant figure in the New York crime scene. Wanting to capitalise on the recent outbreak in costumed superhumans, he funds the creation of Electro, a living conduit of electricity. After a series of failed attempts break loose, causing mayhem before literally “burning out” in the street, a perfect result is yielded. Kingpin wields him like a hammer in a effort to destroy Spiderman, a cause of grief. Electro is eventually bested and brought into custody, leaving Kingpin to flee the city before Electro’s creation is traced to him. This film also explores Peter and Gwen’s progress from friendship to a relationship.
Spiderman 3
When funding for Oscorp’s latest project – weaponised gliders and flightsuits, along with a performance enhancing serum – is abruptly cut, Norman Osborne resorts to using his own funds to complete the technology with hopes of selling it to the military. Because of his reduced budget, he tests the serum on himself, becoming the Green Goblin in the process. Originally intending to demonstrate the finished glider (having given up on the flightsuit), his activities become criminal as the serum eats away at his sanity, hoping to steal enough money to rebuild the empire he lost to finish the project. Meanwhile, a new photographer, Eddie Brock, is brought on at the Bugle, and Peter is tasked with profiling up-and-coming actress Mary-Jane Watson, developing into a friendship. This causes Gwen to become suspicious, which is quelled when Peter proposes. However, Goblin discovers Spiderman’s alter ego by tailing him, hoping to pre-emptively wipe him out as an obstacle. He sets a trap for Peter by using Gwen as bait. During the confrontation, an attempt to catch a falling Gwen results in her death, and in the following struggle, Goblin is killed by his own glider. The film ends with Mary-Jane, now in a relationship with Harry Osborne, comforting Peter at Gwen’s funeral.
Spiderman 4
It is revealed that Oscorp’s recent project was one of Kingpin’s “Supervillain Investments”, after the failure of Electro. In addition to this, he had been bribing Dr Curt Connors to try and replicate the freak accident that created Spiderman. This yields a successful result, but Kingpin’s disappearance leads to the test subject, desperate cab-driver Mac Gargan, running off, fused to the “Scorpion suit” used in the experiment. With nowhere else to go, he offers to hunt down Spiderman for J. Jonah Jameson using his newfound power for a considerable reward. Adrian Toomes, lead engineer for the Oscorp flightsuit, is furious towards Norman Osbourne for firing him after the project lost funding. He is approached by a stranger (Kingpin, having returned to the city after the Electro fiasco blew over), who pays him to finish the project independently. He does so, and uses it to become The Vulture. During the film, the alien symbiote is introduced, giving Spiderman enhanced power. Toomes kidnaps and interrogates Harry Osborne in order to discover where his father is, as Norman’s secret identity was not made public. After taking care of Scorpion, Spiderman manages to rescue Harry and defeat Vulture. Following this, Kingpin begins again, funding Dr Otto Octavius in his cold fusion research. Fearing for his, and MJ’s life, Harry fakes his own death and flees to Europe with the remainders of his father’s assets, telling only Peter. Concerned with the aggression the symbiote suit has instilled in him, Peter rids himself of it at the launch of a space shuttle, hoping to return it to space, where it bonds with Eddie, there to cover the launch.
Spiderman 5
Peter and Mary-Jane have begun dating, driven together by the loss of respective loved ones. The film mainly follows Eddie Brock’s struggle to maintain his normal life since the encounter with the alien symbiote, leading to his transformation into the monstrosity Venom. Instilled with an innate hatred for Spiderman for rejecting it, Venom seeks to destroy him. Having been fused with Peter before, the symbiote provides Eddie with his identity, leading to an all out siege on Peter’s life, leading to the near death of Mary-Jane. Desperate not to let history repeat itself, Peter hunts clashes with Venom, and in a rage kills him, burning the body in an attempt to destroy the symbiote. However, unbeknownst to him, this does not succeed, leaving the door open for Carnage. Following the attack on MJ, Peter breaks up with her, hoping to keep her out of harms way.
Spiderman 6
Dr Octavius’ research takes a turn for the worst, resulting in the fusion of his mechanical arms to his spine. After he is subdued by Spiderman and jailed, he meets previous foes of Spiderman; Shocker, Kraven, Electro, Scorpion and Vulture. After a jailbreak, they each attempt to punish Spiderman for putting them away (all unsuccessfully). Eventually they decide to team together, forming the Sinister Six. Attempts to deduce Spiderman’s alter ego are unsuccessful, until they discover that MJ had been used by Venom as bait to draw out Spiderman, and so use the same tactic. When this is successful, they manage to defeat him together, and take him and MJ to a makeshift HQ, an abandoned warehouse. There they unmask him, revealing his identity to MJ. After creating mistrust within the group by fuelling Scorpion’s paranoia and Electro’s uncontrollable rage, he pits them against each other, weakening them and leading to their defeat. Accepting that she will never be safe, MJ and Peter rekindle their relationship.
Venom
The Venom spinoff begins with a short (15-20 minute) retrospective of Spiderman 5, exploring the effects of the symbiote on Eddie Brock, his struggle to resist, and the destruction of his sanity, culminating with his death at the hands of Spiderman. The film then picks up near the end of Spiderman 6 with the Sinister Six holding Spiderman captive, and shows the symbiote approaching, intending to re-infect Peter Parker. However, when he gains control and the Six are defeated, the symbiote turns it’s attention to Scorpion, detecting his intense fear and mental fragility. As the Six are transported to Ryker’s Island, the symbiote follows. In prison, Mac Gargan becomes paralysed from the waist down after spinal damage caused by the surgical removal of his “Scorpion Suit”. The Venom symbiote finally finds him and infects him, which Mac accepts, as it heals the damage to his spine. As he regains his strength, the Venom suit gains power, resulting in a breakout, during which one of the prison’s most dangerous offenders, serial killer Cletus Kasady is shot by a guard. A trace of the symbiote finds his body near death, infects him, and enables him to escape. Outside, sick of being defeated by Spiderman, Mac has aspirations of using his new strength to turn his life around, and become a hero. His opportunity comes when Kasady begins roaming the streets, decimating New Yorkers as the deranged monster Carnage. In an attempt to enlist Spiderman’s help in stopping Carnage, he is mistaken for Eddie Brock. After revealing his identity to Peter and gaining his trust, the two hunt down Carnage. After a brutal fight in the streets of NYC, Carnage is defeated. Spiderman urges Venom to let Carnage live, but as the suit gains control over him, Mac strips Kasady of his symbiote by force and kills him, feeding on his body and the remains of his symbiote. Having lost control of himself to the symbiote, the new Venom runs off into the night…
Before you tell me that this is too vague or that you’ve heard these stories before; these are only intended as outlines for an overall saga and I have obviously been influenced by the millions of plotlines existing, and accept that many have been borrowed from. It’s inevitable. Having said that, if you do see an obvious plothole, or have any changes or tweaks you'd make, feel free to contribute.