Earlier this week, James Cameron set off fan-fiction ideas following reports that he had spent considerable time, in the 1990s, developing a Spider-Man project. Reports that quoted the ‘Avatar’ director from his new book, ‘Tech Noir: The Art of James Cameron’, said it was the greatest movie he never made.
Cameron was going for a darker, grittier world to place his protagonist in — this was a setting closer to his ‘Aliens’ and ‘Terminator’ films, stripped of what he called “fanciful” embellishments of mythical superhero universes. The filmmaker saw Peter Parker as a high-school kid on the cusp of change, at once grappling with the enormity of his superpowers and the simpler insecurities of a geeky outcast.
Spider-Man, now part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), also struggles with this work-life balance but the films, while staying true to the classic duality, have been essentially about him suiting up for bigger battles under the tutelage of career world-savers. This has been the boy’s initiation into the league of ‘Marvellous’ men.
The Cameron project never took off due to issues over filming rights but the what-if scenario offers context to Friday’s big release, the Jon Watts-directed ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’. Tom Holland, who plays Parker in the third film of the ‘Homecoming’ trilogy, has called the film “dark”, “sad” and “affecting”. This is also Parker’s first after Mysterio outed him, in the middle of the last installment’s end credits. Is he up for a life without the sweet thrill of necessary deception? We’ll know soon.
The man behind the mask has increasingly anchored our superhero stories on film since franchises started reimagining them for younger, and arguably more cynical, audiences. Christopher Nolan's 'Batman' films have defined this tonal shift for a movie-going generation. Star wattage, big action set pieces and the hype, however, steer Box Office numbers for these franchise films.The realism in character-building which Cameron says he envisioned for Spider-Man, 20 odd years ago, is still not integral to the superhero template of our times.
‘Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse’ (2018), the terrific, standalone animated feature where teenager Miles Morales takes over superhero responsibilities, had the kind of verve and introspection the live-action films have been missing.
‘Spider-Man: Homecoming’ (2017) was an entertaining reboot that also had the fantastic Michael Keaton as Vulture, one of the franchise’s more relatable villains – a man who finds motive in what he sees as a principled resistance to Tony Stark’s showboating ensemble.
Spidey’s first solo MCU gig had its action segments drawn on Stark Industries-supplied tech but beyond the taser webs and enhanced combat modes, it also traveled with a teenager caught between date nights and higher purpose. The film’s easy-goofy tone didn’t undermine its central theme which came through in Stark’s line to Parker — “If you are nothing without this suit, then you shouldn’t have it.”
‘In Spider-Man: Far From Home’ (2019), Parker was still undecided; he still wanted to hang out with MJ (Zendaya) and was still not big on the hero stuff. The film, however, went all-out spectacle with its illusion tech and disaster-movie vibe. It firmed up the trilogy’s allegiance to a larger cinematic cult in which heroic entries looked like rushed product placements. There, Watts appeared content with assembling staples for a Marvel film with reverential nods to the Avengers.
Sam Raimi’s trilogy of Spider-Man films with Tobey Maguire in the lead, released between 2002 and 2007, were more rooted in the comic but Raimi also served classic flavors with some bold toppings. ‘Spider-Man 2,’ at the time of its release in 2004, was seen as an unusually contemplative superhero vehicle that tried to marry traditions of big-ticket entertainment with a probing take on the wall-crawler’s contradictions.
That, however, was before MCU – a Box Office behemoth on to its 27th film in 13 years. Holland’s comments have generated interest since Spider-Man’s MCU integration has not quite translated to explorations of his darker side. The Homecoming films have stayed clear of the origin story. In a departure from Marc Webb’s unpopular reboot, The ‘Amazing Spider-Man’ (2012) and ‘The Amazing Spider-Man 2’ (2014) starring Andrew Garfield, the Watts films have also shunned the grim tones and embraced a friendlier, neighbourhood-y spirit.
Producer Amy Pascal has confirmed another Spider-Man trilogy with Holland in the lead. The MCU fan has been conditioned to the business compulsions to cross-promote superheroes –’No Way Home’ also features Benedict Cumberbatch as Dr Strange who himself will headline a big 2022 release. The studio’s tendency to look away from the double-identity trope could also leave Spider-Man, now with his big secret behind him — and others in the shared superhero multiverse — with more collaborative missions and less personal stories.
(The writer is a senior journalist based in Bengaluru).